India’s crude import bill falls by 16%

NEW DELHI: India’s crude oil import dropped 16 per cent in the fiscal year ended March 31 due to lower international rates but the dependency on overseas suppliers rose to a new high, official data showed.

India imported 232.5 million tonnes of crude oil in the 2023-24 fiscal, almost the same as the previous financial year, but paid only USD 132.4 billion as against USD 157.5 billion in 2022-23, Oil Ministry’s Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) data showed.

Import dependence of crude oil soared to 87.7 per cent in 2023-24, up from 87.4 per cent, while domestic production was almost unchanged at 29.4 million tonnes.

After the price shock of 2022-23, import of 30.91 billion cubic meters of gas cost USD 13.3 billion in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2024. This compared with USD 17.1 billion spent on import of 26.3 bcm of gas in 2022-23 when energy prices shot up to record levels in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Petroleum imports as percentage of India’s gross imports (in value terms) stood at 25.1 per cent, down from 28.2 per cent in 2022-23. Similarly, petroleum exports as a percentage of the country’s gross exports came at 12 per cent in 2023-24 as compared to 14 per cent in the previous year.

India’s fuel consumption rose 4.6 per cent to a record 233.3 million tonnes in the year ended March 31, 2023. It was 223 million tonnes in 2022-23 and 201.7 million tonnes in 2021-22.

Besides crude oil, India spent USD 23.4 billion on import of 48.1 million tonnes of petroleum products like LPG. It also exported 62.2 million tonnes of products for USD 47.4 billion. Other than oil, India also imports gas in its liquid form, called LNG.