Nayara Energy — 35-Day Refinery Shutdown May Cut 8% of India’s Refining Capacity

Expert Analysis:

• Nayara Energy plans to shut its Vadinar refinery for approximately 35 days starting early April 2026, which is expected to take around 8% of India’s total refining capacity offline, posing a significant short-term supply-side disruption.

• The shutdown comes amid ongoing geopolitical tensions linked to the Iran war, which have already constrained imports of crude oil, natural gas, and LPG, thereby amplifying risks of tighter domestic fuel availability.

• The maintenance activity had been deferred earlier due to EU sanctions impacting critical vendors, but with preparatory work now largely completed, the company is proceeding despite a challenging global energy environment.

• While Nayara has indicated it holds adequate buffer stocks to maintain supply continuity, industry participants caution that the outage of a large refinery could still strain domestic fuel markets, especially with elevated global fuel prices and import constraints.