Petroleum products output rises 4% in H1

India’s production of petroleum products rose 5.5% on year to 21.5 million tonne in September, according to data from the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell. During the first half of the current financial year, production increased by 3.8% to 136.3 million tonne from 131.4 million tonne in the first half of FY23.

Of the total 21.5 million tonne produced, 21.2 million tonne came from refinery production and the remaining was from fractionator.

The country imported 4.0 million tonne of petroleum products last month, up from 3.2 million tonne last September. India’s import bill for petroleum products rose to $2.0 billion in September, up from $1.8 billion in the same period last year. However, import bill declined for the Apr-Sep period to $10.7 billion from $14 billion in the corresponding period of last year.

On the contrary, the country’s export of petroleum products, however, fell to 30.9 million tonne during Apr-Sep from 31.5 million tonne in the first half of last financial year.

India consumed 18.2 million tonne of petroleum products in September, up by 7.7% from last September. The country’s consumption grew by 5.9% to 113.7 million tonne in the first half of FY24 compared with the H1FY23.

However, India’s production of crude oil remain unchanged at 2.4 million tonne in September and 14.7 million tonne in the Apr-Sep period from their corresponding period last year.

Of the total production, Oil India Ltd was able to reach its target production of 0.27 million tonne for the month of September. Oil and Natural Gas Corporation produced 1.5 million tonne of crude oil in September lower than its target of 1.6 million tonne.

“Total Crude oil processed during September 2023 was 20.3 million tonne which is 3.8% higher than September 2022,” the report said. “There was a growth of 2.8% in total crude oil processed in Apr-Sep FY24 as compared to same period of FY23.”

Crude oil imports of the country increased by 6.1% and 0.4% in September and Apr-Sep respectively as compared to the corresponding period of the previous year. “As compared to net import bill for oil and gas for September 2022 of $10.8 billion, the net import bill for oil and gas for September 2023 was $10.0 billion,” the report said. Out of this, crude oil imports constitutes $10.6 billion, LNG imports $1.2 billion and the exports were $3.9 billion during September 2023.

The price of Indian crude basket averaged $93.54 per barrel during September this year as against $90.71/bbl in September last year.