OREANDA-NEWS. May 23, 2011. Fuel exports by Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL), India’s largest publicly traded company, climbed 25 percent in the first half of May from a month earlier as it shipped more gasoline to the U.S. 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.

Gasoline Shipments  Reliance exported at least 555,000 tons of gasoline from Jamnagar in western India during the first half of this month, according to transmissions captured by AISLive on Bloomberg and data from Clarkson Research, a unit of the world’s biggest shipbroker.

At least 41 percent of the month’s gasoline shipments went to the U.S., while other destinations included Europe, Africa and Singapore. Gasoline consumption rises when Americans take to the roads for summer vacations. Consumption tends to peak after Independence Day on July 4.

The Qi Lin Zuo was hired by New York-based Hess Corp. to transport 65,000 tons of gasoline to the U.S. from the port of Sikka near Jamnagar, the Clarkson data show. The vessel sailed from near Sikka in early May and was last tracked in the Mediterranean Sea headed to New York, according to ship transmissions captured by Bloomberg.

Reliance’s shipments of jet fuel jumped 120 percent to at least 125,000 tons in the first 15 days of this month, the data show. Jet-fuel stockpiles fell to the lowest in more than two years in Europe’s Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp oil-trading hub before the start of the peak summer travel season, according to PJK International BV.

Supplies of the aviation fuel in independent storage declined 37,000 tons, or 7 percent, to 491,000 tons, in the week to May 19, the Oosterhout, Netherlands-based researcher said. That’s the lowest since Oct. 16, 2008.

New Century  The New Century sailed from near Sikka this month, carrying 65,000 tons of jet fuel to Europe, the data show. The vessel was last tracked near the Suez Canal headed to Le Havre in France, according to ship transmissions captured by Bloomberg.

Reliance’s gasoil, or diesel, shipments were little changed at 160,000 tons during the period. Most of the diesel cargoes went to Africa, the data show. The company also shipped at least 130,000 tons of naphtha to Japan, up from 35,000 tons.