India's largest oil company, Indian Oil Corp (IOC), has increased its refinery start-up to around 60 percent as demand for fuel is gradually recovering due to the easing of embargo measures. IOC said in a statement that it plans to expand refinery capacity to 80 percent by the end of this month. IOC and other refiners reduced refinery operating rates after the closure of factories and businesses across the country brought most vehicle, rail and air travel to a halt and fuel demand evaporated. 

With the gradual increase in demand for petroleum products, IOC restarted many of the processing facilities at refineries that were closed due to the shutdown," IOC said. Regarding the production of polypropylene and other petrochemical intermediates, the company said, "Demand for these levels is expected to increase further in the coming years due to the restart of the MEG (Monoethylene Glycol) plant at the Paradepat plant and the naphtha cracker." "IOC closes Paradep petrochemical plant as warehouses storing finished products are full. "Paradep's polypropylene plant is expected to resume operations in the next few days, with other polymer units poised to start operations this month. Once the naphtha cracker at Panipat is restarted, crude oil production will be higher due to the increase in refineries. 

Though the national blockade has severely affected the entire value chain of petroleum products, all refineries are on "high alert" to ensure increased production due to increased demand for their products. "Prior to the COVID-19 blockade, the Company's refineries were operating at full capacity, but product congestion caused by the sharp drop in demand initially forced the Company to reduce throughput and reduce operations to nearly 45% of design capacity," the IOC said. "While it was the volumes of ATF, fuel oil and bitumen that declined sharply, demand spiked as refineries' demand for LPG cooking gas increased," Similarly, IOC Panipat's naphtha cracker is expected to run well above its design capacity for the month of March. However, this should not be the case as inventories of polymer products have increased and even some units have been shut down. Several downstream sectors of the industry have resumed operations from late April, leading to increased shipments of polymer brand names such as BOPP and GPBM, he said. PP raffia and PP yarns were affected, he added.