Maintenance by refineries and monsoon lowered India’s July oil purchase, reduced import bill

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India’s crude oil import fell by 4.3 percent in July compared to last year, reducing the net oil and gas import bill for the month, latest data from the oil ministry has revealed.

India imported a total of 18.6 million metric tonnes (MMT) of crude oil in July as compared to 19.4 MMT a year ago, data from government’s Petroleum Planning & Analysis Cell (PPAC) showed.

The lower crude oil imports for July were primarily due to scheduled refinery maintenance shutdowns and comparatively lower demand due to monsoon.

“The dip in July imports reflects a seasonal slowdown in July-September due to maintenance and lower monsoon-driven demand. In July-August, maintenance is in IOC Vadodra refinery, Bina Refinery, Barauni Refinery, Chennai Refinery,” said Sumit Ritolia, lead research analyst, refining & modeling at Kpler, a global real-time data and analytics provider.

Owing to lower import, India’s net energy import bill fell to $9.4 billion in July as compared to $11.4 billion a year ago. Out of the net import, crude oil constituted $9.3 billion, liquified natural gas (LNG) imports accounted for $1.2 billion while petroleum was $3 billion in July.

The lower import bill was also on account of lower crude prices compared to July last year, with the Indian basket price at an average of $70.95 per barrel compared to $84.15 a year ago. During June 2025, the Indian basket crude price averaged at $69.77 per barrel.

India’s import dependency for crude oil has come in at 87.4 percent for July.

Natural Gas Consumption

India’s natural gas consumption fell by 12.6 percent in July compared to last year, at 5,875 million metric standard cubic metre (MMSCM) on account of above-average rainfall this year which dampened demand from gas-based power plants.

In line with lower demand, LNG imports in for July fell 20.2 percent to 2,946 MMSCM. This fiscal so far, India’s LNG imports stand at 11,534 MMSCM, lower by 12.4 percent compared to last year. The fall in gas consumption in the current fiscal is in contrast with the government’s aim of increasing the share of natural gas to 15 percent in the country’s total energy basket by 2030.

India depended on imports for 50.1 percent of its total natural gas requirements during the month.