India’s oil import invoice to prime $100 bn in present fiscal

India’s crude oil import invoice is about to exceed  $100 billion within the present fiscal yr ending March 31, nearly double its spending final yr, as worldwide oil costs commerce at seven-year highs.

India spent $94.3 billion within the first 10 months (April-January) of the continuing monetary yr that began April 1, 2021, in keeping with information from the oil ministry’s Petroleum Planning & Analysis Cell (PPAC).

It spent $11.6 billion in January alone when oil costs had began to surge. This in contrast with $7.7 billion spending in the identical month final yr.

In February, oil costs crossed $100 per barrel and going at this fee, India, which imports 85 per cent of its crude oil necessities, is anticipated to nearly double its import invoice to $110-115 billion by the top of the fiscal yr 2021-2022.

The imported crude oil is become value-added merchandise like petrol and diesel at oil refineries, earlier than being offered to cars and different customers. India has surplus refining capability and it exports some petroleum merchandise however is brief on manufacturing of cooking fuel LPG, which is imported from nations like Saudi Arabia.

Import of petroleum merchandise in April-January of 2021-22 fiscal was 33.6 million tonnes price $19.9 billion. On the opposite hand, 51.1 million tonnes of petroleum merchandise had been additionally exported for $33.4 billion.

India had spent $62.2 billion on import of 196.5 million tonnes of crude oil within the earlier 2020-21 fiscal when international oil costs remained subdued within the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the present yr, it has already imported 175.9 million tonnes of crude oil.

In the pre-pandemic 2019-20 fiscal, the world’s third largest vitality importing and consuming nation had spent $ 101.4 billion on import of 227 million tonnes of crude oil.

Brent spot costs surged to an over seven-year excessive of $105.58 per barrel on February 24 on fears of provide disruptions after Russia invaded Ukraine. It has dropped to beneath $100 thereafter as these fears receded because the West stored vitality commerce out of sanctions imposed on Russia.

Higher crude oil import invoice is anticipated to dent the macroeconomic parameters.

The nation’s import dependence has elevated owing to a gradual decline in home output. The nation produced 30.5 million tonnes of crude oil in 2019-20, which fell to 29.1 million tonnes within the following yr.

During the present fiscal, it has produced 23.8 million tonnes of crude oil as far as in comparison with 24.4 million within the first 10 months of 2020-21. The goal for 2021-22 is 26.1 million tonnes, the PPAC information confirmed.

India’s self-sufficiency in assembly oil wants was 15 per cent in 2019-20, which elevated to fifteen.6 per cent within the following fiscal however has fallen to 14.9 per cent within the present monetary yr.

India’s import invoice for liquefied pure fuel (LNG) additionally elevated to $9.9 billion throughout the 10-month interval of the present fiscal, considerably greater than $6.2 billion price of imports throughout the identical interval within the earlier fiscal yr, the PPAC information confirmed.

Global LNG costs have spiralled throughout the previous few months, resulting in costlier fuel imports.

In 2020-21, India spent $ 7.9 billion on import of 33 billion cubic metres of LNG. In the earlier fiscal, it spent $9.5 billion on import of 33.88 bcm.

In the present fiscal, India imported 26.78 bcm of fuel, majority of it on long-term contracts linked to grease costs.

Petronet LNG Ltd imports fuel in its liquid kind (LNG) from Qatar and Australia whereas state-owned GAIL (India) Ltd has long-term import contracts from Russia and