RoydadNaft –  India’s domestic crude oil and condensate production experienced a 4 per cent year-over-year decline in October 2024, reaching 2.3 million metric tonnes (MMT), according to recent data released by the petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC).

Oil and Natural gas Corporation (ONGC) remained the dominant producer, contributing 1.6 MMT, while PSC/RSC and Oil India Ltd. (OIL) added 0.5 MMT and 0.3 MMT, respectively.

Despite the downturn in domestic production, Indian refineries demonstrated robust performance, processing 21.3 MMT of crude oil in October 2024, marking a 4.4 per cent increase from the previous year.

Public sector and joint venture refineries handled 14 MMT, with private refiners processing the remaining 7.3 MMT.

The vast majority of processed crude-19.2 MMT-came from imports, while domestic crude accounted for just 2.1 MMT.

The petroleum product sector showed significant growth, with total output reaching 23 MMT in October 2024, representing a 5.3 per cent increase compared to the same period last year.

Refineries contributed 22.7 MMT to this total, with fractionators adding 0.3 MMT. High-speed diesel dominated the product mix at 41 per cent, followed by motor spirit at 16.8 per cent, naphtha at 6.8 per cent, aviation turbine fuel at 6.6 per cent, and petcoke at 5.3 per cent.

Import trends revealed mixed patterns, with crude oil imports rising by 4.2 per cent in October 2024 and showing a 3.5 per cent increase during the April-October period of FY 2024-25.

While petroleum product imports declined by 2.2 per cent in October, they registered a 7.7 per cent growth during the seven-month period, driven primarily by increased imports of petcoke, LPG, and lubricants.

Export performance remained particularly strong, with petroleum products showing a substantial 12.7 per cent increase in October 2024 and a 4.2 per cent rise during the April-October period.

This growth was largely attributed to increased international sales of petcoke/CBFS, fuel oil, motor spirit, and aviation turbine fuel.

The cumulative data for April-October FY 2024-25 indicates a 1.8 per cent growth in crude oil processing compared to the previous year.

The PPAC findings suggest that while enhanced refinery throughput and export growth have helped counterbalance the decline in domestic crude production, India’s dependence on imported crude oil continues to grow as the nation works to meet its expanding energy requirements.