
Refining margins of OMCs subdued in FY25 amid shrinking Russian discounts
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. New Delhi: Gross refining margins (GRM) of oil marketing companies (OMC) in India are likely to continue to narrow in the ongoing fourth quarter of fiscal year 2025 (FY25) with declining discounts on Russian oil and shrinking crack spreads. The benchmark Singapore GRMs in the January-March quarter as of February-end stood at $2.7 per barrel, compared with $4 per barrel in the fourth of the previous fiscal, showed data from Icra Ltd.
During the third quarter of FY25, the benchmark Singapore GRM was at $5 per barrel. “Refining margins have been lower due to declining discounts on Russian crude, which currently stand around $2.5-2.8 per barrel, along with the fall in crack spreads for all products, other than naphtha. This quarter also margins may remain soft as crack spreads continue to be subdued.
Further, in the previous quarter due to higher winter demand globally both crack spreads and margins were stronger. They usually tend to ease in January," said Prashant Vasisht, senior vice president and co-group head, corporate ratings, Icra. A year ago, discounts on Russian oil were around $10 per barrel.
Data from the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) showed that as of December, the GRM of the public sector OMCs dropped over 50% on a year-on-year basis. Also read | Actis acquires 100% of Stride Climate Investments from Macquarie Group The GRM of Indian Oil Corp. Ltd, the largest public sector OMC, fell 72.17% to $3.69 per barrel in the first nine months of FY25, from $13.26 a barrel in the corresponding period of the last fiscal.
Similarly, the GRMs of Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd (HPCL) fell 59.57% and 51.93% to $5.95 and $4.73 a barrel,
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