<p>Indian Oil Corp is seeking gasoline, a tender document showed, making it the second refiner from the country looking to plug a gap caused by low crude runs to curb inflating supplies of diesel and jet fuel, industry sources said.</p>.<p>IOC, which does not typically comment on its spot deals, is looking to import 30,000 tonnes of gasoline for October 10-11 arrival at Chennai and Kochi through a tender closing on September 29.</p>.<p>This comes after Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd bought gasoline from an oil major last week for October 7-11 arrival at Kandla, its first purchase this year.</p>.<p>India went on a buying spree in 2019 as refineries upgraded to produce cleaner fuels, causing the country's monthly gasoline imports to hit an all-time high of about 4,10,000 tonnes in September last year, official data showed.</p>.<p>However, coronavirus lockdowns wiped out most of the demand earlier this year, with India's August 2020 gasoline imports seen at 30,000 tonnes.</p>.<p>"Indian demand for gasoline is (now) super strong. Current (refinery) runs are not adequate and will require some cargoes to be imported in October," said one of the sources.</p>.<p>But Indian refiners are under pressure to keep output low due to persistent weak demand and bad refining margins for diesel and jet fuel, the source added. </p>
<p>Indian Oil Corp is seeking gasoline, a tender document showed, making it the second refiner from the country looking to plug a gap caused by low crude runs to curb inflating supplies of diesel and jet fuel, industry sources said.</p>.<p>IOC, which does not typically comment on its spot deals, is looking to import 30,000 tonnes of gasoline for October 10-11 arrival at Chennai and Kochi through a tender closing on September 29.</p>.<p>This comes after Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd bought gasoline from an oil major last week for October 7-11 arrival at Kandla, its first purchase this year.</p>.<p>India went on a buying spree in 2019 as refineries upgraded to produce cleaner fuels, causing the country's monthly gasoline imports to hit an all-time high of about 4,10,000 tonnes in September last year, official data showed.</p>.<p>However, coronavirus lockdowns wiped out most of the demand earlier this year, with India's August 2020 gasoline imports seen at 30,000 tonnes.</p>.<p>"Indian demand for gasoline is (now) super strong. Current (refinery) runs are not adequate and will require some cargoes to be imported in October," said one of the sources.</p>.<p>But Indian refiners are under pressure to keep output low due to persistent weak demand and bad refining margins for diesel and jet fuel, the source added. </p>