Oil & gas import bill dips 27% in Nov as crude price skids, petro product export value soars

In November, India’s dependency on imports reached 89.1 percent of its total crude oil requirements.

India’s net oil and gas import bill shrank 27 percent in November from last year as crude oil prices skid and value of petroleum product exports surged.

According to the oil ministry’s Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC), India’s net oil and gas import bill for November was $7.6 billion, compared to $10.4 billion a year back.

The import bill went down despite the country buying a higher volume of crude oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) during the month. The country’s crude oil imports were up 2.2 percent in November year-on-year as India imported 19.1 million metric tonnes (MMT) of fuel and paid $10 billion for it. This compares to import volume of 18.6 MMT in November 2023 and a crude import bill of $11.5 billion.

Oil prices declined in international markets during the month. In November 2024, Brent averaged at $74.47 per barrel, a sharp decline from an average of $83.18 per barrel last year. Crude oil prices have been muted in the second half of 2024 primarily due to lower global demand and expected oversupply next year.

In November, India’s dependency on imports reached 89.1 percent of its total crude oil requirements.

LNG imports for the month cost India $1.2 billion for importing 2,941 MMSCM of gas. India’s gas imports rose by 21.7 percent in November from the corresponding month last year.

Petroleum product exports

India mopped up $5.8 billion from export of petroleum products in November, clocking a 35 percent increase over the last year. However, the country’s POL exports declined 6.7 percent with 5.3 MMT of petroleum products being shipped out of the country, which was lower than 5.7 MMT recorded in November 2023.

Higher value of petroleum products could be result of a rise in demand from Europe ahead of the winter and refinery shutdowns in the region.

India, which is a net importer of crude oil, exports refined oil products, including petrol, diesel and aviation turbine fuel (ATF), to Europe and other countries.

With the Euro Zone not buying Russian oil as part of sanctions imposed on Moscow, India has emerged as one of the top exporters of refined products to the bloc in recent months. Data from commodity market analytics firm Kpler showed that India’s refined fuel exports to Europe hit an all-time high of approximately 400,000 barrels per day (bpd).