India’s crude oil imports in October fell by 1.4 per cent from a year earlier as leading private refiner Reliance shut a unit for maintenance, while strong demand for auto fuels drove oil product sales higher.

Asia’s third-largest oil consuming nation imported nearly 9.79 million tonnes of crude oil in October, down from 9.92 million tonnes year ago, official data showed.
Crude imports by private refiners during the month were down 22.8 per cent at 2.63 million tonnes, mainly due to 17.5 per cent less processing at Reliance Industries 660,000 barrels per day refinery at Jamnagar on the west coast.
A 330,000 bpd crude processing unit at the refinery was closed during the month for maintenance.
An oil ministry official said Reliance’s crude imports in October were down nearly 700,000 tonnes.
Overall refinery runs in October grew by a modest 2.8 per cent in October, the lowest rise since November 2005.
State-run refiners, which also get crude from domestic output, mainly meet domestic demand for products.
Oil product sales, a proxy for demand, rose an annual 9.9 per cent in October, the fastest pace in 11 months, to 10.69 million tonnes.
Demand was driven by transport fuels as vehicle sales picked up during the month after a slowdown in September.
“Passenger vehicle sales were strong in October due to festival season. Growth in aviation fuel sales was also high at 17.7 per cent in October,” said the oil ministry official.
Passenger vehicle sales in October grew 16.7 per cent from a year earlier, compared with 9.7 per cent rise in September, according to Society for Indian Automobile Manufacturers.
The International Energy Agency has retained its outlook for oil products demand in India, based on trends up to September.
“Total consumption is expected to rise by 4.5 per cent in 2007 to almost 2.8 million barrels a day, and slow down slightly to 2.3 per cent in 2008 as natural gas continues to displace naphtha,” it said in its latest monthly report.
Domestic naphtha sales in October grew 7.5 per cent to about 1.2 million tonnes.
India expects domestic demand for oil products to grow at a compounded annual growth rate of 2.9 per cent to 132 million tonnes by 2011/12.
Oil product exports declined 0.1 per cent to 3.36 million tonnes in October as state-run refiners shipped out 25 per cent less during the month as they concentrated on domestic demand.
Exports by private firms during the month rose 17.9 per cent.
The oil secretary recently said India aims to export 40 million tonnes of oil products in the year to the end of March, from 32 million tonnes a year ago.
India exported 23.43 million tonnes of oil products during April-October, with petrol, diesel, and jet fuel constituting nearly 57 per cent of the total.
Oil product imports in October declined 15.4 per cent to 1.37 million tonnes as demand from state-run refiners slackened. State companies recorded their lowest overall level of product imports in six months.
Overall, diesel imports during the month were up 29 per cent on strong private demand.
Kerosene imports were up 27.1 per cent, while liquefied petroleum gas imports rose by 6.9 per cent.
Naphtha imports by private refiners during the month rose 38.7 per cent to 541,500 tonnes, while purchases by state refiners remained flat at 32,400 tonnes.