According to tentative information made public by the union ministry of petroleum and natural gas on Wednesday, crude oil production in India was 29,690.78 thousand metric tonnes (TMT) in FY2022, 11.67 percent lower than its target of 33,614.53 TMT.
The country produced 30,494.09 TMT of crude oil in FY21.
The production level in March 2022 was 2,526.11 TMT, which is 12.49 percent lower than the target for the month and 3.37 percent lower than March 2021. Domestic oil production stood at 2,614.14 TMT in the same month last year.
According to Reuters, the drop in production comes at a time when global oil prices are at multi-year highs due to the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
India is concerned about rising global crude prices because it imports about 85 percent of its energy. The rise in oil prices is likely to result in higher import costs.
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Domestic natural gas production increased year over year, though it fell short of the fiscal year's target.
Natural gas production was 34,023.52 million metric standard cubic meters (MMSCM) in April-March 2021-22, up 18.66 percent from the previous year (28,672.56 MMSCM).
It was, however, 9.65 percent below the period's target of 37,657.24 MMSCM.
The monthly target for natural gas production in March 2022 was 2886.23 MMSCM, which is 7.46 percent higher than March 2021 but 15.49 percent lower than the monthly target.
As a result of the rise in global crude and gas prices caused by the Ukraine crisis, the price of downstream products such as gasoline, diesel, liquefied petroleum gas, and compressed natural gas has risen in the country. Between March 22 and April 6, the price of gasoline and diesel increased by about ten cents per liter.
Petrol now costs 105.41 per liter in Delhi, while diesel costs 96.67 per liter.
CNG now costs 71.61 per kilogram in Delhi, an increase of 15.6 per kilogram in less than six weeks.
A parliamentary panel recently recommended that the government review its strategy for increasing domestic oil production and take concrete, measurable steps to do so, as part of the government's efforts to reduce energy import dependence.
The standing committee on petroleum and natural gas expressed concern in its report to parliament last month about the "very minimal" contribution of oilfields under the "new exploration licensing policy" to overall crude oil production in the country.
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by Prashant Rana
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