India's top court allows cement industry to use petroleum coke (updated)

Mangalam Cement

13/12/2017 08:57

* Petcoke banned in parts of India amid pollution spike 
    * Shares of Indian cement firms climb as much as 5 pct 
 
 (Adds details of court order, cement shares, background) 
    NEW DELHI, Dec 13 (Reuters) - India's Supreme Court on 
Wednesday allowed the cement industry to use petroleum coke, a 
dirtier alternative to coal which had temporarily been banned as 
pollution levels shot up in Delhi last month. 
    India is the world's biggest consumer of petroleum coke, 
better known as petcoke, a dark solid carbon material that emits 
11 percent more greenhouse gas than coal, according to studies.  
    The Supreme Court in October banned the use of petcoke in 
and around New Delhi in a bid to clean the air in one of the 
world's most polluted cities.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N1MZ444 
    But a blanket ban on the sale and use of petcoke could hit 
the country's small and medium scale industries, which employ 
millions of workers and operate on thin margins, businesses say. 
    Supreme Court judge Madan Bhimrao Lokur, in issuing the 
exemption order for cement and limestone industries, asked the 
government to frame guidelines for the use of petcoke. 
    Shares of Indian cement companies, which use petcoke as 
feedstock, surged as much as 5 percent on news of the court 
decision. Local producers of petcoke include Indian Oil Corp 
 IOC.NS , Reliance Industries  RELI.NS  and Bharat Petroleum 
Corp  BPCL.NS .  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N1O53SZ 
    Delhi's air quality has worsened this winter, piling 
pressure on authorities to take steps. Vehicles and industrial 
emissions as well as the burning of crop stubble in the farm 
states around Delhi have caused the spike in pollutants. 
    Petcoke and other cheap, highly polluting fuel such as 
furnace oil are widely used by cement factories, dyeing units, 
paper mills, brick kilns and ceramics businesses. 
    The government told the court that petcoke would only be 
used as feedstock and not as a fuel. 
     
 
 (Reporting by Suchitra Mohanty; Writing by Nidhi Verma; Editing 
by Sanjeev Miglani and Manolo Serapio Jr.) 
 ((nidhi.verma@thomsonreuters.com; +91 11 49548031; Reuters 
Messaging: nidhi.verma.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)) 
 
Keywords: INDIA PETCOKE/