India's oil and gas import bill swells to $12.3 billion
India's oil and gas import bill soared to $12.3 billion in April, a significant increase from the previous year's $10.1 billion, according to data from the country's oil ministry. The Petroleum Planning & Analysis Cell (PPAC) monthly report indicated a 7% rise in oil imports compared to the same month last year. Furthermore, there was an observed increase in the average Indian basket crude price during April.
Breakdown of India's April oil and gas import bill
The total net import bill of $12.3 billion in April was primarily made up of crude oil imports, which accounted for $13 billion. LNG (liquefied natural gas) imports contributed an additional $1.1 billion to the bill. Meanwhile, petroleum exports were valued at $3.7 billion during the same month. The average Indian basket crude price in April was recorded at $89.46 per barrel, a rise from last year's average of $83.76 per barrel and March's average of $84.49 per barrel.
Russia tops list of crude oil suppliers to India
Russia emerged as the leading supplier of crude oil exports to India in April. Moscow supplied 1.7 million barrels of crude oil to India during this month, marking an increase from 1.5 million barrels per day (bpd) in March. The majority share was made up by the sour grade Urals. This comes amidst India's well-documented dependency on imports for over 85% of its crude oil requirements and around 50% of its natural gas needs.
India's fuel demand and domestic production in April
In April, India's import dependency for crude oil stood at 88.4%. The country imported 2,608 million metric standard cubic meter (MMSCM) of LNG, marking a 3.7% increase from the same month last year. The consumption of petroleum products, reflecting fuel demand in India, rose by 6.1% year-on-year to reach 18.7MMT in April. This growth was primarily driven by a surge in petrol demand by 14.1%, while aviation turbine fuel and liquefied petroleum gas consumption increased by 13.1% and 3.9%, respectively.
