Asia’s No. 2 Fuel Guzzler Eyes More Exports as Covid Hits Demand

  • Companies weigh the option of raising oil-product shipments
  • Lockdowns in major cities have cut into domestic consumption
Photographer: Dhiraj Singh/Bloomberg
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Oil refiners in virus-battered India may decide to ramp up fuel exports as lockdowns across the country cut into local consumptionBloomberg Terminal, while a recovery in global demand lifts profits from potential overseas sales.

State-owned Indian Oil Corp. and Bharat Petroleum Corp. are weighing the option of raising oil-product exports against cutting run rates, according to company officials who asked not to be identified. That’s after record infections in India prompted curfews that kept people off the streets and hurt consumption. Outside India, major economies such as the U.S. and China saw a surge in mobility that has lifted the use of gasoline and diesel.