NEW DELHI, May 7: Crude oil production dropped by nearly five per cent last year to 33.43 million tonnes from 35.15 million tonnes during 1995-96, according to the annual report of the union ministry of petroleum and natural gas.

Crude oil imports last year were estimated to have gone up by 21 per cent to 33.15 million tonnes from 27.34 million tonnes the year before. The import of petroleum products was also estimated to have been two million tonne higher at 22.09 million tonnes.

During 1995-96 the total petroleum and oil lubricants import had been 20.33 million tonnes.

Petroleum products exports were estimated to have been 2.43 million tonnes during 1996-97.

Crude oil output fell, despite rigourous steps taken to boost oil recovery, like enhanced oil recovery schemes and maintaining reservoir health through work-over-operation and pressure maintaining methods.

The report says that the crude output of the country was expected to improve slightly to 34.42 million tonnes this year.

Some additional crude processing facilities were installed last year, including the three-million-tonnes per annum JVC-MRPL refinery at Mangalore and the modernisation of the Digboi refinery.

The Digboi refinery capacity has increased from 0.5 million tonnes to 0.65 million tonne.

The cumulative refining throughput of the 14 refineries in the country was 46.85 million tonnes in the first eight months of last year, which was a million tonne more than the installed capacity of the refineries.

The annual capacity of the 14 refineries is 60.55 million tonnes.

The report estimates refinery capacity to increase to 130 million tonnes by the end of the Ninth Plan.

The demand for petroleum products is expected to go up to 113 million tonnes by then.

New oil finds were reported from 12 places, including the Mumbai offshore, the Krishna-Godavari basin, the upper Assam basin, Cambay and the Cauvery basin. Bids were invited for the seventh and eighth rounds of exploration for blocks offered as part of the joint venture exploration programme.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.