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India’s net oil, gas import bill down 25% in April-October amid lower international prices
India’s net oil and gas imports in value terms for April-October of 2023-24 (FY24) declined by nearly a fourth on a year-on-year basis to $68 billion due to relatively subdued prices of crude oil, natural gas, and petroleum products globally, latest government data shows.
This decline in the value of oil and gas imports came despite a rise in import volumes, suggesting that the fall in prices was significant enough to offset the volume growth. In the first seven months of the previous financial year—FY23—the country’s net oil and gas import bill was $90.1 billion.
The price of oil, gas and refined petroleum products saw a hike last year following Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. In the initial few months of FY23, international prices of these commodities were overheated. Their prices in the current financial year have been relatively softer and less volatile. For instance, the average price of the Indian basket of crude for April-October of last year was almost $102 per barrel, but in the first seven months of FY24, it was $83.44.
According to provisional data from the Petroleum Planning & Analysis Cell (PPAC) of the oil ministry, India imported crude oil worth $75.5 billion in April-October of the current financial year, against $101.2 billion a year ago. However, in volume terms, oil imports for the period were higher by 0.6 per cent at 134.4 million tonnes. Apart from generally lower prices of crude oil globally, India has also benefited from ramping up imports of discounted Russian crude. Although the discounts are not as high as last year, the volume of oil imported from Russia has gone up significantly. Moscow now accounts for over 40 per cent of New Delhi’s overall oil imports.
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