The oil import bill decreased by a whopping 18.9 per cent last year, even though the volume of imports remained the same as in 1996-97. The growth in oil consumption at home also sobered down to 4.3 per cent, after galloping at a pace of 6.5 per cent in 1996-97 and 10.7 per cent the year before.The country imported 49 million tonne of petroleum and oil lubricants (POL) between April 1997 and February this year, worth Rs 26,150 crore. During the corresponding period of the 1996-97 fiscal, the bill for the same quantity of POL had been Rs 31,107 crore.
Petroleum products imports by the private sector were two million tonne more last year, than in the year before. Private sector companies, which are allowed to market superior kerosene oil (SKO) and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), had imported roughly 1.9 million tonne of petroleum products during 1996-97.
Indians consumed 66.2 million tonne of petrol, diesel, LPG, SKO, ATF, industrial fuels and lubricants between April 1997 and January this year, comparedto 63.5 million tonne in the first 10 months of the previous fiscal, which was 4.3 per cent higher.
During the whole of the 1996-97 fiscal oil consumption was 77.2 million tonne, which was 6.5 per cent more than in the year before, when the country consumed 72.5 million tonne of petroleum products. The modest growth in POL consumption last year was entirely catered for by increased domestic production, since imports did not go up at all.
Crude production within the country went up by a million tonne to 30.9 million tonne between April and February compared to the corresponding 11 months of the 1996-97 fiscal. In the whole of that year, crude oil production had been 32.9 million tonne, or 6.5 per cent lower compared to the 1995-96 crude output of 35.2 million tonne.
Natural gas production in the first 10 months of last year 9.2 per cent higher at 22.6 billion cubic metres. The oil refineries together processed 59.4 million tonne of crude, which was 3.9 per cent more than in 1996-97. Even so, LPG importsare expected to go up, now that 40 lakh more cooking gas consumers have been enlisted by the oil companies. The previous year the national oil companies had only signed on an additional 23 lakh LPG consumers. To cater for the anticipated increase in demand, two new LPG import facilities, with a total capacity of 1.2 million tonne have been commissioned by national oil companies at Kandla and Mangalore.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
