NEW DELHI: India’s crude oil import bill has declined substantially, nearly 16%, in financial year 2023-24, even though quantity of imports remained almost same during this period compared to the previous year.
Crude oil imports declined 4.4% in March 2024 and 0.1% for the entire financial year (April-March 2023-24) compared to the same period last year. However, the import bill witnessed a bigger fall in FY24 to `13,250 crore, compare to `15,750 crore in FY23.
According to the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC), an organisation under petroleum ministry, liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports saw a slight decrease in March 2024 compared to the fiscal. However, for the entire financial year so far, LNG imports have grown by 17.5%.
The exports of petroleum products (POL) also showed a mixed trend. They declined by 11.7% in March 2024 compared to the same month last fiscal, but for the entire financial year, they increased by 1.9%. This growth is attributed to a rise in exports of aviation turbine fuel, vacuum gas oil, and fuel oil.
As per the data, domestic production of petroleum products has shown positive growth. Output in March 2024 was 1.5% higher than March 2023, and for entire financial year, it grew by 3.6% compared to the previous year.
The report also provides a breakdown of the major petroleum products produced domestically in March 2024. High-speed diesel (HSD) accounts for the largest share (40.5%), followed by motor spirit (MS) at 16.6%. Other significant products include naphtha, aviation turbine fuel (ATF), pet coke, and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).