Essar posts $20 million loss on poor refining margins

India’s private sector oil company Essar Oil posted a net loss of Rs940 million (US$20.06 million) for the July-September quarter due to a sharp reduction in refining margins which pushed the company back into the red after two quarters of profitability, the company said in a statement. Total income fell to Rs96 billion (US$2.05 billion) in the current year from Rs137.4 billion (US$2.93 billion) a year ago. Gross refining margins have hit a low of US$4 per barrel in the September quarter, down from US$6.74 per barrel in the April-June quarter. (November 1, 2009)