India’s Crude Oil Import Dips 16% to 232 MT

New Delhi: India’s crude oil import dipped by 16 per cent in the fiscal year ended March. India imported 232.5 million tonnes of crude oil, which is refined into fuels like petrol and diesel, in the 2023-24, almost the same as in the previous financial year, according to data from Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC).

As per the data, India paid $132.4 billion for the imports in FY24 as against $157.5 billion import bill in 2022-23.

“Import dependence of crude oil soared to 87.7 per cent in 2023-24, up from 87.4 per cent. However, the domestic crude oil production was almost unchanged at 29.4 million tonnes in 2023-24. Besides crude oil, India spent $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 $47.4 billion,” the PPAC data showed.

Other than oil, India also imports gas in its liquid form, called LNG. After the price shock of 2022-23, import of 30.91 billion cubic metres of gas cost $13.3 billion in FY24. This compared with $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.

The net oil and gas import bill (crude oil plus petroleum product plus LNG import bill minus exports) stood at $121.6 bn in 2023-24, down from $144.2 bn, data showed.

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,” the PPAC data showed.