據彭博社9月24日報道，印度最大的煉油商看好塑料市場前景，因為它正尋求從一個日益具有挑戰性的燃料業務中實現多元化。

印度石油公司(Indian Oil Corp.)董事長Shrikant Madhav Vaidya表示，公司計劃在未來所有煉油擴建項目中增加石化工廠，并提高現有設施的產量。總體而言，煉化廠所加工的原油中只有不到10%用于生產石化產品，但這項業務貢獻了該公司近四分之一的利潤。從食品包裝到汽車零部件，石油化工產品是所有產品的基礎。

盡管全球各地的消費者和政府都面臨著減少塑料使用的壓力，但亞洲的加工商正在建設或規劃石化工廠，因為未來幾年對運輸燃料的需求將有所緩解。本周，印度石油公司完成了對其古吉拉特邦煉油廠24億美元的擴建，其中包括一個生產包裝和紡織品產品的聚丙烯部門。

Vaidya在接受采訪時表示:“我們意識到，只要在石化行業有良好的發展，就可以很容易地控制燃料市場的波動。就營業額而言，石油燃料仍是我的主要業務，但我計劃從石化產品中獲得利潤。”

在截至3月31日的財年中，由于石油和產品價格的波動導致利潤率收窄或出現負值，印度石油公司的利潤暴跌逾90%。該公司運營著9家煉油廠。總體而言，該公司計劃將其煉油廠用于生產石化產品的原油加工量增加一倍。Vaidya補充道，在帕尼帕特(Panipat)、帕拉迪普(Paradip)和古吉拉特邦(Gujarat)等主要石油加工廠，用于生產石化產品的石油加工比例預計將從目前的15-20%上升至25%。

值得一提的是，該公司對印度對石油燃料的需求增長前景以及該行業未來的投資持樂觀態度。Vaidya預計，短期內的消費量最早將在今年年底達到疫情爆發前的水平，從而使煉油商能夠將加工速度從目前的約75%提高到90%-100%。燃料庫存也已接近一個更平穩的正常水平，足以滿足兩周的需求。

印度石油公司控制著該國40%的石油燃料市場，該公司還計劃向天然氣和可再生能源領域擴張。Vaidya指出:“我們希望成為一家多元化的能源公司，而不僅僅局限于化石燃料業務。”

王佳晶 摘譯自 彭博社

原文如下：

Top India Oil Refiner Betting on Plastics to Cushion Fuel Shocks

India’s biggest oil refiner is betting on plastics as it seeks to diversify from an increasingly challenging fuels business.

Indian Oil Corp. plans to add petrochemical plants to all of its future refinery expansions and boost existing output at its current facilities, Chairman Shrikant Madhav Vaidya said. Overall, less than 10% of the crude processed by the refiner is used to make petrochemicals -- the building blocks for everything from food packaging to car parts -- but the business contributes almost a quarter of the company’s profits, he added.

While there is consumer and government pressure across the world to reduce the use of plastics, processors in Asia are building or planning petrochemical plants with demand for transport fuels set to ease in the years ahead. Indian Oil this week finalized a $2.4 billion expansion at its Gujarat refinery to include a polypropylene unit, which can make products for packaging and textiles.

“We realized that the volatility of the fuel market can be easily controlled by having a good footprint in the petrochemicals sector,” Vaidya said in an interview. “Petroleum fuels continue to be my main business as far as turnover is concerned, but profitability I intend to get from petrochemicals.”

Indian Oil, which operates nine refineries, saw its profit tumble more than 90% in the year ended March 31 as volatility in oil and product prices led to narrow or negative margins. Overall, the company plans to double the amount of crude processed at its refineries to make petrochemicals. At major plants Panipat, Paradip and Gujarat, the proportion of oil processed to produce petrochemicals is expected to climb to 25%, from 15-20% currently, Vaidya said.

Vaidya, however, is optimistic about India’s demand growth outlook for petroleum fuels and future investments in the sector. In the short term, he sees consumption reaching pre-virus levels as early as year-end, allowing the refiner to boost processing rates to 90-100%, from about 75% now. Fuel stockpiles have also eased closer to a more typical level that’s sufficient enough to meet two weeks of demand, he said.

Indian Oil, which controls 40% of the nation’s petroleum fuels market, also plans to expand into natural gas and renewable energy. “We have every intention of becoming an energy company, not just restricted to fossil fuels,” Vaidya said.