The recovery in consumption has been faster than expectations, said MK Surana, CMD of HPCL on Friday. He also said that it is too early to talk about the monetisation of pipelines, while adding that, the subsidy receivables from the government are reducing. HPCL's third-quarter numbers came in weaker than estimates due to a miss on refining margins but marketing margins came in line with expectations.

On recovery in consumption, Surana said, “The Singapore margins which were in the negative territory has started coming in the positive one. The diesel and motor spirit (MS) cracks which were there is $2-3 have started looking up. The recovery is better and quicker than what many people were expecting.”

On refining, he said, “The cracks have been on the lower side off late for some time. The petrol and diesel cracks have been in the range of $ 2-3 per barrel which is normally not the situation. These are improving now, diesel cracks are ranging up to $ 4-5 or so and the petrol as well but still refining cracks remain low which hits the refinery margin to some extent. Results are better than what was the general consensus. We are happy with the results and as the cracks improve refinery margins should be better than what they are right now.”

On the monetisation of pipelines, Surana said, “It is early, HPCL does not have a gas pipeline, HPCL has got petroleum product pipeline. We will see how we can create better value than what we had already able to create in present and we will review the options.”

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(Edited by : Ajay Vaishnav)

First Published:Feb 5, 2021 11:32 AM IST