MUMBAI: It's double whammy for oil refiners amid the covid-19 pandemic as they stare at an inventory loss of over ₹25,000 crore in the March quarter due to a slump in crude oil prices, and a likely fall in gross refining margins in the June quarter, said Crisil Ratings in a note.
Crude prices nosedived from an average $55 per barrel in February to $33 in March and closed at around $20 per barrel at the end of March as demand slumped because of the pandemic.
On April 12, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries managed to strike a deal for a record production cut of 9.7 million barrel per day.
Yet crude prices have tanked because the pandemic dragged down demand across the globe. “Inventory losses would be more for refineries