Reliance fuel exports from India rise 25pc on gasoline, jet-fuel shipments

MUMBAI, May 23 (Bloomberg): Fuel exports by Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL), India's largest publicly traded company, climbed 25 per cent in the first half of May from a month earlier as it shipped more gasoline to the US and demand for jet fuel grew. The Mumbai-based company, which operates the world's largest refining complex, sold at least 1 million metric tons of fuel products overseas from its Jamnagar facility from 800,000 tons in the first 15 days of April, according to ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg and vessel fixtures from Clarkson Research Services Ltd. Reliance, controlled by billionaire Mukesh Ambani, is aiming to increase exports while state-owned rivals such as Indian Oil Corp. and Bharat Petroleum Corp. sell more fuel domestically at government-capped prices. Demand for gasoline in the U.S., the world's biggest economy, peaks during the summer driving season, which lasts from the Memorial Day weekend in late May to the Labor Day holiday in early September. Manoj Warrier, a spokesman for Reliance in Mumbai, didn't respond to an e-mail seeking comment. All figures from Clarkson are for single-voyage bookings and exclude long-term charters. Shipbrokers aren't obliged to report charters so the scope of data capture can vary from month to month.