Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd has sold naphtha cargo out of Kochi for the first time this year after cancelling two earlier sales tenders, industry sources said on Monday.
BPCL sold 35,000 tonnes of naphtha for May 2-3 loading from Kochi to Japanese trader Petro-Diamond at a premium of about $16 a tonne to its own price formula on a free-on-board (FOB) basis.
It skipped exporting the fuel from Kochi for January and April 2019 loading and cancelled sales tenders for February and March cargoes. BPCL also exports naphtha from Mumbai.
Indian naphtha exports have been low this year due to domestic demand and India's refineries either undertaking maintenance or upgrading their facilities to prepare for Euro VI-compliant fuels.
India's February 2019 naphtha exports came in at 4,30,000 tonnes, according to official data, the lowest monthly exports since October 2015.