Tap the mechanism

Explainers as tools.

Start with a question. Every card opens a working artefact, not a preamble.

ArtefactThe Russia crude trade — 2% to 35% in three yearsInteractive. The single largest shift in Indian oil since 1991. Five layers: the trigger (Feb 2022), the price-cap mechanism, the payment workarounds, the OMC economics, and what could unwind it.Open →ArtefactHow a litre of petrol gets priced in IndiaFlagship interactive. Every rupee of your petrol price, unfolded layer by layer from barrel to refinery transfer, dealer commission, central excise, state VAT, and residual margin.Open →ArtefactWhy petrol is expensive in IndiaExecutive explainer. The real answer is not one villain: import dependence, rupee exposure, excise, VAT, OMC smoothing, and state fiscal reliance all stack into the pump price.Open →CrisisWhat happens if Brent goes to $100Scenario map. Who gets hit first when crude spikes: OMC marketing margins, excise space, CAD, inflation, state VAT, upstream producers, and consumers.Open →ArtefactThe crude import chain — from Ghawar to Greater KailashInteractive. A barrel of Saudi crude becomes a litre of Delhi petrol in six stages: producer, tanker, SPM, refinery, pipeline, pump. Tap to walk the chain.Open →ArtefactFour prices for the same molecule — gas pricing mechanismInteractive. Indian gas has four concurrent price regimes: APM ceiling, HPHT ceiling, market-linked new wells, imported LNG. The skeleton key to upstream PSU results and CGD retail tariffs.Open →ArtefactOMC under-recovery — the book that never reconcilesInteractive. Why IOC/BPCL/HPCL hold retail flat through crude shocks, absorb losses as negative margin (not subsidy receivable), and get compensated via the excise mechanism instead of direct bonds.Open →ArtefactMumbai vs Delhi — why the ₹15 gapInteractive. Same crude, same excise, yet Mumbai petrol is ₹12-18 higher. Four drivers: VAT rate, specific add-ons, surcharges, and max-of rules.Open →

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