NEW DELHI: Latest data released by the petroleum ministry showed India’s crude oil imports increased by 1 per cent in September 2022.
The net import bill for oil and gas was USD 10.7 billion in September 2022, as compared to USD 9.4 billion in September 2021, while exports in the month were at USD 5.3 billion. Of the total imports, crude oil constitutes USD 12.8 billion and LNG $1.0 billion.
Data also suggests imports during the April-September 2022 quarter went up by 15.1 per cent. According to the data by the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC), a body of the petroleum ministry, the price of Brent Crude averaged USD 89.87 per barrel during September 2022, as against USD 99.99 per barrel during August 2022 and USD 74.58 per barrel during September 2021.
Indian basket crude price averaged USD 90.71 per barrel during September 2022, as against USD 97.40 per barrel during August 2022 and USD 73.13 per barrel during September 2021. The crude consumption reported a growth of 13.4 per cent during April- September 2022 with a volume of 107.73 million tonnes (MT). It was 95.0 MT during the same period of the previous year.
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This growth was led by 18.5 per cent growth in petrol, 16.1 per cent in diesel and 72.1 per cent in ATF (aviation turbine fuel) consumption during the half year. The consumption of petroleum products during September 2022 recorded a growth of 8.1 per cent with a volume of 17.2 MT compared to the same period of the previous year.
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India’s crude oil production in September 2022 was down by 2.3 per cent from that of September 2021 as compared to a de-growth of 3.3 per cent during August 2022. Oil India Limited (OIL) registered a growth of 5.2 per cent and ONGC (Oil and Natural Gas Corporation) registered a growth of 1.0 per cent during September 2022 as compared to September 2021. PSC registered a de-growth of 13.9 per cent during September 2022 as against the same month in 2021.