India allocates coke import quotas for FY2025-26

: Petroleum coke
25/04/03

India has allocated more import quotas of calcined petroleum coke (CPC) from a year earlier for the April 2025-March 2026 fiscal year, while allocations of green petroleum coke (GPC) quota to calciners are marginally lower on the year.

India's Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), which is part of the commerce and industry ministry, allocated a CPC import quota of 775,000t in a meeting last month, according to minutes reviewed by Argus. This was up from 500,000t in 2024-25.

The DGFT allocated about 1.87mn t of GPC quota for 2025-26, marginally below the 1.9mn t granted for previous year. This quota was distributed among 25 calciners, with Rain CII Carbon securing the highest allocation of 462,589t for 2025-26, while fellow calciner Sanvira was granted permission to import 374,477t.

Goa Carbon was granted a quota of 274,354t, while Paradip Calciner received a quota of 106,993t. Petro Carbon was given a quota of 83,583t, while Neo Carbons got an approval for imports of 66,871t. Brahmaputra Carbon and Guwahati Carbon secured 50,000t each. India Carbon (West Bengal) was granted a quantity of 49,563t, while India Carbon (Guwahati) received 43,828t. The remaining quota was distributed among 15 other calciners.

The DGFT made the allocations in proportion to calciners' production capacity. In cases where calciners sought less than they were eligible for, the surplus was proportionately distributed among all the applicants. But in most of these cases, the allocated quantity was down from last year.

The 775,000t CPC quota for 2025-26 was made to four aluminium smelters — Vedanta, Bharat Aluminium, Hindalco Industries, and state-controlled producer Nalco. Vedanta received 336,608t, Hindalco 262,126t, Bharat Aluminium 116,265t, and Nalco 60,000t.

The GPC quota for calciners was hiked by 500,000 t/yr to 1.9mn t/yr from the 2024-25 fiscal year onwards, following a February 2024 order by the Commission for Air Quality Management. The order also raised the CPC quota to 800,000 t/yr with effect from the 2025-26 fiscal year, from 500,000 t/yr previously.

Calciners and smelters are expected to purchase seaborne GPC and CPC based on these quotas and complete imports before 31 March 2026. Companies that are unable to fully utilise the approved quota must inform the DGFT by 31 October so that the unused quota is redistributed among other companies.

Higher domestic supplies limit CPC imports

A sharp increase in domestic CPC output and supplies in the last fiscal year, because of higher GPC import quotas and a price advantage compared to the seaborne market, limited smelters' imports of CPC. Most smelters were not able to use the allocated import quotas last year, said a market participant. It is unlikely that smelters would be able to entirely utilise the increased quota this year, he added.

A higher CPC supply is already reducing India's demand for CPC imports from regions like China and the Mideast Gulf. Indian smelters are also finding themselves in a stronger position to negotiate domestic purchases and imported cargoes, with companies choosing domestic supply over imports from China. "This is an unusual situation as imported cargoes have been historically cheaper," one said.

Meanwhile, domestic calciners are expected to continue to be aggressive in their pricing because of increased capacity use and higher economies of scale. Most imports will be done on a case-to-case basis when it offers a quality or price advantage, said another participant.

Smelters received 350,800t of CPC over April 2024-February 2025, according to data from shipbroker Interocean. This was down from 491,000t a year earlier and well below the quota of 500,000t for the year ended 31 March. March data was not yet available but the total for 2024-25 should still be well below the quota.

By Ajay Modi

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25/04/07

Flooding on US rivers mires barge transit

Houston, 7 April (Argus) — Barge transit slowed across the Arkansas, Ohio and lower Mississippi rivers over the weekend because of flooding, which prompted the US Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) to close locks and issue transit restrictions along the waterways. The Corps advised all small craft to limit or halt transit on the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System (MCKARNS) in Arkansas because flows reached above 200,000 cubic feet per second (cfs), nearly three times the high-water flow. The heavy flow is expected to persist throughout the week, posing risks to those transiting the river system, said the Corps. Some barges have halted movement on the river, temporarily miring fertilizer resupply efforts in Arkansas and Oklahoma in the middle of the urea application season. The Corps forecasts high flows to continue into Friday, and the National Weather Service predicts several locations along the MCKARNS will maintain a moderate to minor flood stage into Friday as well. Both the Arthur V Ormond Lock and the Toad Suck Ferry Lock, upriver from Little Rock, Arkansas, shut on 6 April because of the high flows. Flows along the Little Rock Corps district reached 271,600cfs on 7 April. The Corps forecasts high flows to continue into Friday. Ohio and lower Mississippi rivers The Corps restricted barge transit between Cincinnati, Ohio, and Cairo, Illinois, on the Ohio River to mitigate barge transportation risks, with the Corps closing two locks on the Ohio River on 6 April and potentially four more in the coming days. Major barge carrier American Commercial Barge Line (ACBL) anticipates dock and fleeting operations will be suspended at certain locations along the Mississippi and Ohio rivers as a result of the flooding. NWS forecasters anticipate major flooding levels to persist through the following week. Barge carriers also expect a backlog of up to two weeks in the region. To alleviate flooding at Cairo, Illinois, where the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers meet, the Corps increased water releases at the Barkley Dam on the Cumberland River and the Kentucky Dam on the Tennessee River. The Markland Lock, downriver from Cincinnati, Ohio, and the Newburgh lock near Owensboro, Kentucky, closed on 6 April. The Corps expects the full closure to remain until each location reaches its crest of nearly 57ft, which could occur on 8 or 9 April, according to the National Weather Service (NWS). Around 50 vessels or more are waiting to transit each lock, according to the Lock Status Report published by the Corps on 7 April. The Corps also shut a chamber at both Cannelton and McAlpine locks. The John T Myers and Smithland locks may close on 7 April as well, the Corps said. The Olmsted Lock, the final lock before the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, will require a 3mph limit for any traffic passing through. The NWS expects roughly 10-15 inches of precipitation fell along the Ohio and Mississippi River valleys earlier this month, inducing severe flooding across the Ohio and Mississippi River valleys. A preliminary estimate from AccuWeather stated an estimated loss of $80-90bn in damages from the extreme flooding. By Meghan Yoyotte Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

India’s Rain to raise CTP capacity

25/04/04

India’s Rain to raise CTP capacity

London, 4 April (Argus) — India-based Rain Industries will start up the first phase of a new coal tar pitch (CTP) facility in southeastern India in the second half of this year, as it anticipates higher CTP demand and better efficiency by locating distillation capacity near coal tar production. Rain's new facility will process, blend and upgrade CTP in India's Andhra Pradesh Special Economic Zone, sourcing coal tar from new steelmaking facilities in the region. It will target the Indian graphite, battery and aluminium markets. Rain will start 50,000 t/yr of capacity in the second half of this year and later add another 200,000t/yr of capacity, although it has not yet announced a timeline for the second phase. Although the initial investment is small, "we believe it is worthwhile to penetrate the regional market" where Rain is already a major player in the calcined petroleum coke industry, Rain Industries vice chairman Jagan Reddy Nellore said. "With increased steel and coal tar production within India over the next few years, this will position us well to set up a larger distillation plant when the timing is right." The new Indian plant will also help further "optimise" operations at Rain's North American and European distillation facilities, the company said. Rain has been using less than its full capacity at these existing facilities as the CTP market remains relatively weak, moving coal tar on oceangoing vessels to choose which plant will best suit operations. The new Indian plant will "support additional capacity utilisation at all of its existing global distillation facilities", Nellore said. Rain had previously initiated steps to increase CTP production in early 2024, despite weak demand for its products and capacity expansion by other companies at the time. But the company expected that rising aluminium smelting capacity in India and the Middle East would increase demand for its products in the long-term. Indonesian and Indian aluminium smelting expansions over the next two years should support demand for Rain's new CTP output, the company said. Primary aluminium producers use CTP along with calcined petroleum coke to produce the anodes used in the smelting process. While CTP margins continue to be tight, in large part because of tight supply of coal tar raw material, "one of our coal tar supply headwinds, which is the shift to electric arc furnace steel production, is also a tailwind for us on the product side", subsidiary Rain Carbon's president Gerard Sweeney said. CTP relies on coal tar, a byproduct of blast furnace steelmaking, meaning greater steel recycling through electric arc furnaces curbs supply. But increased electric arc furnace steelmaking could boost demand for CTP, which is used to produce the graphite electrodes needed for this process. This will help improve CTP demand in Rain's major markets like North America and Europe, Sweeney said. Global CTP supplies have been limited not only because of a shift away from blast furnace steelmaking but also production outages last year in Europe and the energy crisis in the region spurred by "geopolitical conflict", according to Rain. India exported about 123,500t of CTP last year, up from 87,600t in 2023, according to data from Global Trade Tracker (GTT). This included shipments of 34,200t to the UAE, 24,400t to Indonesia, 18,400t to Egypt, 12,300t to Saudi Arabia and 10,500t to Brazil. By Alexander Makhlay and Lauren Masterson Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Funding cuts could delay US river lock renovations

25/04/03

Funding cuts could delay US river lock renovations

Houston, 3 April (Argus) — The US Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) will have to choose between various lock reconstruction and waterway projects for its annual construction plan after its funding was cut earlier this year. Last year Congress allowed the Corps to use $800mn from unspent infrastructure funds for other waterways projects. But when Congress passed a continuing resolutions for this year's budget they effectively removed that $800mn from what was a $2.6bn annual budget for lock reconstruction and waterways projects. This means a construction plan that must be sent to Congress by 14 May can only include $1.8bn in spending. No specific projects were allocated funding by Congress, allowing the Corps the final say on what projects it pursues under the new budget. River industry trade group Waterways Council said its top priority is for the Corps to provide a combined $205mn for work at the Montgomery lock in Pennsylvania on the Ohio River and Chickamauga lock in Tennesee on the Tennessee River since they are the nearest to completion and could become more expensive if further delayed. There are seven active navigation construction projects expected to take precedent, including the following: the Chickamauga and Kentucky Locks on the Tennessee River; Locks 2-4 on the Monongahela River; the Three Rivers project on the Arkansas River; the LaGrange Lock and Lock 25 on the Illinois River; and the Montgomery Lock on the Ohio River. There are three other locks in Texas, Pennsylvania and Illinois that are in the active design phase (see map) . By Meghan Yoyotte Corps active construction projects 2025 Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Upper Mississippi River reopens for transit

25/03/20

Upper Mississippi River reopens for transit

Houston, 20 March (Argus) — The first towboat arrived at St Paul, Minnesota, today, marking the start of the 2025 navigation season on the upper Mississippi River, according to the US Army Corps of Engineers (Corps). The Neil N. Diehl passed through Lock 2 at Hastings, Minnesota, with nine barges, crossing into St Paul on 19 March. Tows reaching St Paul signify the unofficial start of the navigation season, as St Paul is the last port to open on the Mississippi River after winter ice thaws each year. This is considered an average start time for the navigation season, which typically opens the third week of March. The first tow to reach St Paul in 2024 arrived on 17 March. The Corps released the final Lake Pepin ice measurements of 17in on 12 March and was unable to take new measurements this week since the ice had melted significantly. Lake Pepin measurements help determine when the ice will be thin enough for barges to transit up river. By Meghan Yoyotte Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Lira crash puts Turkey coke, coal trades on pause

25/03/19

Lira crash puts Turkey coke, coal trades on pause

London, 19 March (Argus) — A drop in the Turkish lira today to an all-time low against the dollar has put petroleum coke and coal trades on hold, with some banks heard to have halted credit lines. Turkish buyers are likely to shift focus further away from seaborne coke and strongly compete in a domestic coke tender on offer early next week. The lira fell to record lows against the US dollar today after the arrest of Istanbul's mayor Ekrem Imamoglu — a main rival of Turkish president Tayyip Erdogan — raised concerns over political instability in the country. The arrest came just days before Turkey's main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) was scheduled to hold its primary election, at which Imamoglu was expected to be chosen as its presidential candidate. As a result, the lira fell as low at 40/$1 in early trading — from below 37/$1 on 18 March — before easing to around 38/$1 later in the day. The intra-day recovery came after Turkey's central bank sold as much as $10bn in foreign currency to stabilise the lira. "Obviously trades are on hold", one Turkish coke trader said, with several banks heard to have halted issuing new credit lines. But market participants do not expect these stoppages to be long-lasting, given the speed with which the lira's initial depreciation had been partially reversed. Turkey's latest economic shock will hopefully be absorbed within this week, another source said. The disruption may not have much effect on global coke prices, as many buyers were already avoiding coke purchases as seaborne prices been at a multi-year high premium to coal , encouraging cement makers to buy more coal from Russia. It is also not likely to have a major impact on the coal market, since Turkey's coal demand already falls during the peak April-June hydropower season. Turkish power utilities — the largest consumers of coal in the country — last week began planned outages for maintenance and have mostly fulfilled short-term inventory requirements via term contract. But cement makers are expected to push to win supply in a domestic refiner's upcoming tender for 76,000t of high-sulphur coke. "I think there will be huge demand", one source said, as domestic coke will be a safer bet for Turkish cement makers given the currency uncertainty and already high cfr prices for US-origin material. High interest rates in Turkey last year prompted cement end-users seeking smaller volumes of coal to avoid importing fresh tonnes, instead purchasing previously imported material or nationalised coal from domestic stock-and-sale trading firms, to reduce the share of bank financing for their purchases. These trades could increase if Turkey's economy worsens, said a trader. Purchases of nationalised coal had already returned this month, with a further trade at around $88-$89/t fot today. Domestic traders have in recent weeks reduced offers on a free-on-truck basis to compete with offers from Russia, prompting several cement plants to fix cargoes on this basis. Buying nationalised coal also has the added benefit of avoiding the payment issues and political scrutiny of dealing directly with Russian exporters. Inflation to increase There could be longer-term economic ramifications of political instability within Turkey, with most market participants expecting inflation to begin rising again in line with the sharp lira devaluation. "The Turkish economy was doing pretty well over the past few months, and now all the efforts and sacrifices people made are gone," one source said. Turkey's annual inflation rate fell to 39.1pc in February, Turkish Statistical Institute data show, down from 42.1pc in January and dipping below 40pc for the first time in 20 months. This had been expected to set the stage for Turkey's central bank to lower its key interest rate further, having already lowered it by 2.5 percentage points to 45pc in January and by the same amount in December. This rate had been held flat at 50pc in March-December last year as part of the government's efforts to tame inflation. But the latest political and economic developments could turn this progress on its head, creating an uncertain outlook for imported coal and coke demand in Turkey, should the country ramp up interest rates again to stymie spiralling inflation. By Bryan Wu, Alexander Makhlay and Lauren Masterson Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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