Indian crude oil and condensate production dropped by four percent year-over-year in October 2024, reaching 2.3 million metric tons (MMT), according to recent data from the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC).
Despite the downturn, the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) remained the dominant producer, contributing 1.6 MMT.
Meanwhile, PSC/RSC and Oil India Ltd. (OIL) added 0.5 MMT and 0.3 MMT, respectively.
Strong Refinery Performance
Despite the decrease in domestic production, Indian Crude Oil refineries showed solid performance in October 2024.
Refining capacity surged as 21.3 MMT of crude oil was processed, marking a 4.4% year-over-year increase.
Of the total processed crude, public sector and joint venture refineries handled 14 MMT, while private refiners processed the remaining 7.3 MMT.
Notably, the majority of the crude used for refining, 19.2 MMT, was imported, leaving just 2.1 MMT of domestic crude for processing.
Growth in Petroleum Product Output
The petroleum product sector experienced notable growth in October 2024, with total output reaching 23 MMT, a 5.3% increase compared to the same month in the previous year.
Refineries contributed 22.7 MMT to the total output, while fractionators added 0.3 MMT.
Among the products, high-speed diesel accounted for the largest share at 41%, followed by motor spirit at 16.8%, naphtha at 6.8%, aviation turbine fuel at 6.6%, and petcoke at 5.3%.
Import Trends and Petroleum Product Imports
Import trends for October 2024 presented mixed signals. Crude oil imports rose by 4.2%. There was a cumulative increase of 3.5% during the April-October period of FY 2024-25.
However, petroleum product imports declined by 2.2% in October.
Over the seven-month period, though, imports of petroleum products saw a 7.7% growth. It is driven mainly by increases in petcoke, LPG, and lubricants.
Robust Export Performance
Petroleum product exports performed strongly in October 2024, showing a 12.7% increase for the month.
The overall growth during the April-October period was 4.2%.
The surge in exports was largely attributed to higher international sales of petcoke/CBFS, fuel oil, motor spirit, and aviation turbine fuel.
Crude Oil Processing and Future Outlook
The cumulative data for the April-October FY 2024-25 period shows a 1.8% increase in crude oil processing. This is compared to the same period last year.
The findings from PPAC suggest that enhanced refinery throughput and strong export performance have mitigated the effects of declining domestic crude production. However, India’s reliance on imported crude oil continues to rise.
As reported by knnindia.co.in, the trend underscores the nation’s ongoing efforts to meet its expanding energy needs.
