India's Crude Oil Import Bill Increases by More than 41% to $13.7 Billion in July
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New Delhi: In wake of the continuing West Asian crisis, India’s crude oil import bill has increased by more than 41% year-on-year to $13.7 billion in July, provisional data released by the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) has revealed, reported The Hindu.
In terms of volume, India’s crude oil imports increased to 13.3% to 21.4 million metric tonnes (MMT) in July, as compared with 18.9 MMT in the same month last year.
Owing to the sharp increase in international crude prices, India’s crude basket averaged $82.04 a barrel in July, a significant increase from a year back, when this figure was $70.95 a barrel.
Benchmark Brent crude prices remained volatile during the month as episodic developments in West Asia continued to influence market sentiment.
India’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports too rose by 1.5% year-on-year to 2,915 million standard cubic metres (MMSCM) in July.
The provisional PPAC data reveals that at present India continues to be heavily dependent on overseas supplies to meet its energy requirements, with crude oil imports accounting for 88.5% of the country’s total crude oil consumption.
According to the data, India's net import bill for oil and gas – which is the difference between petroleum products, crude and gas imports; and exports of petroleum products – increased more than 19% on a year-over-year basis to $11.2 billion.
Ever since the conflict in West Asia began in February this year, India’s import of crude oil from Russia has steadily increased.
The Wire had earlier reported that as per a latest analysis by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), crude oil accounted for 83% of India’s total Russian fossil fuel imports. Crude oil imports from Russia amounted to €4.8 billion ($5.55 billion) in May alone. Among other fossil fuel imports, oil products contributed €550 million, while coal imports were around €429 million.
Mostly due to the high imports of Russian crude, India’s overall crude import volumes had risen to 8% month-on-month during May.
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