India's Crude Oil Production Falls 3.1% In April 2025

New Delhi, May 23 (KNN) India's domestic crude oil and condensate production decreased by 3.1 percent year-on-year to 2.3 million metric tonnes in April 2025, according to data released by the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell.

The decline reflects ongoing challenges in the country's upstream oil sector as production continues to face headwinds.

Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, the nation's largest oil producer, accounted for 1.5 million metric tonnes of the total production during the month.

Oil India Limited contributed 0.3 million metric tonnes, while production under Production Sharing Contracts and Revenue Sharing Contracts reached 0.5 million metric tonnes.

The country's refineries processed a total of 21.5 million metric tonnes of crude oil in April 2025, representing a 0.6 percent decline compared to the same period in 2024.

Public sector and joint venture refiners handled 15.2 million metric tonnes of this total, while private sector refineries processed 6.3 million metric tonnes.

India's heavy reliance on imported crude oil remained evident, with 19.6 million metric tonnes of imported crude processed compared to just 1.9 million metric tonnes of indigenous crude.

This distribution underscores the country's continued dependence on overseas supplies to meet its energy requirements.

Petroleum product manufacturing totalled 22.4 million metric tonnes in April 2025, marking a 4.2 percent decrease from the previous year.

Refinery operations contributed 22.1 million metric tonnes to this figure, while fractionators added the remaining 0.3 million metric tonnes.

High-speed diesel dominated the product mix, comprising 42.2 percent of total output, followed by motor spirit at 17.5 percent.

Other significant products included naphtha at 6.5 percent, aviation turbine fuel at 6.4 percent, petroleum coke at 5 percent, and liquefied petroleum gas at 4.4 percent.

The balance consisted of bitumen, fuel oil, light diesel oil, lubricants, and other petroleum derivatives.

Import activity showed mixed trends during the month. Crude oil imports declined by 1.0 percent compared to April 2024, while petroleum oil and lubricant product imports fell more sharply by 9.0 percent.

The steeper decline in product imports was primarily attributed to reduced purchases of fuel oil and lubricating oil base stock.

Export performance weakened significantly, with petroleum product exports dropping 12.4 percent in April 2025.

The decline was mainly driven by reduced shipments of high-speed diesel and aviation turbine fuel, indicating softer international demand or competitive pressures in key export markets.

(KNN Bureau)