Crude oil output of India drops

The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas recently released its data for the fiscal year 2020-21. According to the data, crude oil production of India fell to 30.5 million tonnes. It was 32.17 million tonnes in 2019-20.

Key Highlights

The data released by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas are as follows:

Oil

• The crude oil production of India fell by 5% in 2020-21 as compared to the previous year.
• The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation produced 2% less oil in 2020-21 as compared to 2019-20. In 2020-21, the oil produced by ONGC was 20.2 million tonnes. The National lock down that lasted for more than two months shut some of its field completely.
• The Oil India Limited produced 5.4% less oil.

Natural Gas

The Natural Gas production in the year 2020-21 was at 28.67 billion cubic metres. This was 8% less than the output in 2019-20. However, in March 2021, the overall natural gas output of the country began to increase as the Reliance industries started their output from KG basin fields. The Reliance began producing Natural Gas in the KG basins in December 2020. It is now producing gas at the rate of 1.3 million cubic metres per day.

Crude Oil Refineries

• Both private and public sectors of India together processed 13% less crude oil in 2020-21. In 2020-21, the total amount of crude oil that was processed in the country was 221.7 million tonnes.
• The Public Sector refineries such as Indian Oil Corporation processed 12% less crude oil. In 2020-21, the crude oil processed by public sectors was 127.5 million tonnes.
• During 2020-21, the refineries produced 11.2% less petroleum products.

Imports

• Around 85% of India’s crude oil is imported.
• In 2020-21, India spent 61.9 billion USD on its crude oil imports.
• India imported 198.2 million tonnes of crude oil in 2020-21.
• In 2019-20, India spent 101.4 billion USD on its crude oil imports.
• In 2019-20, India imported 227 million tonnes of crude oil.

Demand

• The demand for petroleum products in the country fell by 9% in 2020-21. In 2020-21, India consumed 194.6 million tonnes of petroleum products.
• In 2019-20, India consumed 214.1 million tonnes of petroleum products.

Month: Current Affairs - April, 2021