India allows conditional import of petcoke; cement shares rise (updated)

Ramco Industries

17/08/2018 10:44

(Adds details)
    By Sudarshan Varadhan and Abinaya Vijayaraghavan
    NEW DELHI/BENGALURU, Aug 17 (Reuters) - India on Friday
allowed import of petcoke for use as feedstock in some
industries, sending shares of cement manufacturers higher.
    Cement companies, which account for about three-fourths of
the country's petcoke use, were impacted by petcoke-related
policy flip-flops, which began with a supreme court judgment
banning use of the fuel in and around capital New Delhi last
year.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N1MZ4PF
    The directorate general of foreign trade banned the use of
imported petcoke as fuel, but said shipments for use as
feedstock in certain industries were allowed.
    "Import of Petcoke is allowed for only cement, lime kiln,
calcium carbide and gasification industries, when used as the
feedstock or in the manufacturing process on actual user
condition," the directorate general of foreign trade said. (https://bit.ly/2MyltjZ)
    Shares of cement companies such as Ultratech Cement Ltd
 ULTC.NS , Shree Cement Ltd  SHCM.NS , Ambuja Cements  ABUJ.NS 
and ACC Ltd  ACC.NS  rose following the announcement.
    Shree Cement, one of the country's significant users of
petcoke, saw its shares rise as much as 3.6 percent to 17,898
rupees ($255.36), its highest level this month.
    Usage of petcoke, a dirtier alternative to coal, in the
energy-hungry country has come under scrutiny due to rising
pollution levels in major cities. 
    India's imports of petcoke have declined this year as cement
companies substituted some of their petcoke with coal to avoid
production delays due to pollution-related policy changes.
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N1QC31T
    As the world's largest consumer of petcoke, India imports
over half its annual petcoke consumption of about 27 million
tonnes, mainly from the United States. Local producers include
Indian Oil Corp  IOC.NS , Reliance Industries  RELI.NS  and
Bharat Petroleum Corp  BPCL.NS .
    India is the world's biggest consumer of petroleum coke,
which is a dark solid carbon material that emits 11 percent more
greenhouse gases than coal, according to the Carnegie–Tsinghua
Center for Global Policy.
($1 = 70.0900 Indian rupees)

 (Reporting by Sudarshan Varadhan in and Abinaya Vijayaraghavan
in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu and Vyas Mohan)
 ((Sudarshan.Varadhan@thomsonreuters.com; +911149548059;
Twitter: https://twitter.com/turvytopsy @turvytopsy; Reuters
Messaging: sudarshan.varadhan.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))