India’s second largest refinery, Nayara Energy, plans to shut down operations for around 35 days starting early April, a move that could temporarily take
nearly 8% of India’s refining capacity offline and tighten domestic fuel availability, report said. The development comes amid the ongoing US-Iran war and Middle East conflict that has reduced oil and gas availability. Most of Nayara's output is sold in the domestic market, with exports limited after last year's sanctions. A significant share is supplied to state-run refiners that sell more than they produce, with the rest sold through Nayara's network of nearly 7,000 petrol pumps, as per the reports. On Thursday, Russia’s Rosneft-backed Nayara Energy, also raised petrol prices by Rs 5 a litre and diesel by Rs 3/litre, due to the surge in global oil prices. Nayara Energy has decided to pass on part of the increase in input costs to consumers. The company had postponed maintenance work at its 20 million tonnes-per-year Vadinar refinery in Gujarat, the country’s second-largest, last year following European Union sanctions. The three retailers -- Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL), and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) -- last week hiked the price of premium or higher-grade petrol price by Rs 2 per litre and the rate of bulk diesel sold to industrial users by about Rs 22 a litre. However, the price of normal petrol and diesel remains unchanged. Global oil prices edged higher on Thursday, reclaiming the psychologically significant $100-per-barrel mark, as geopolitical tensions in the Middle East continued to drive volatility. Brent Crude rose by $1.13, or 1.1%, to $103.35 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) gained $1.08, or 1.2%, to $91.40 a barrel in early trading. The rebound follows a sharp drop of over 2% in the previous session, highlighting the fragile sentiment dominating global energy markets.
