Oil Imports Double in India

As average oil prices rose 75%, India’s crude oil import bill almost doubled between April and August this financial year compared with the same period a year ago.

In the April-August period, the volume of imports rose 5.2% to 54.6 million tonnes (mt), compared with 51.9 mt a year ago, government data showed.

Crude oil accounts for around 35% of the total money the country spends on imports. India depends on imports for over one-third of its demand, which is growing at around 10% every year.

Between April and August, the country imported 8.6 mt of petroleum products for Rs 36,844 crore. In the year-ago period, it had imported higher volumes of products at 9.1 mt but for a lower amount of Rs 21,307 crore.

India does not allow export of crude oil. Export of petroleum products fell 10.2% in volume terms to 15 mt between April and August this year compared with the corresponding period a year ago. The value of these exports, however, rose 56 per cent to Rs 64,837 crore, compared with Rs 41,436 crore in the year-ago period.

“Exports were down as demand for petroleum products, particularly diesel, rose significantly higher than projected. But the value of these exports is higher, which is good for us,” said an official in the oil ministry.

The huge crude oil import bill continues to make India a net importer of oil and oil products. Net imports during the April-August period have almost doubled to Rs 1,69,627 crore, from Rs 81,180 crore a year ago.

Author: Jo Amey