India shipped out gasoline and diesel at near-record volumes in March, despite being the world’s third-largest oil consumer, as the country took advantage of high profit margins in selling the fuels abroad.
Gasoline exports reached a five-year high of 1.6mn tons, while 3.37mn tons of diesel were exported in March, the highest since April 2020, when overseas sales were a record 3.4mn tons as local demand plummeted due to Covid curbs.
Western sanctions on Russia have seen profit margins on diesel and gasoline surge, with Indian refineries reportedly capitalizing on the demand by deferring maintenance to produce more diesel and gasoline.