The steep increase in the international crude oil price and decline in domestic crude oil and gas production is likely to hit India’s crude oil import Bill reserve as it has to import more crude oil at very high price.

According to a rough estimate, the high crude oil price and less production of domestic crude oil price is going to increase crude oil import bill by around 20 %, and it would increase further in the fiscal year 2021-22 if the Russia-Ukraine tension continues.

While domestic production was partially impacted by COVID-19, the surge in International price was mainly due to tension on Russia and Ukraine borders, admitted a senior officer  of the Union Petroleum Ministry here on Wednesday.

On International front crude oil is going to hit USD 100 a barrel, and atthe domestic crude oil production was hit all time low– with ONGC producing 16,259 Trillion Metric Tonne (TMT) from April 21 to January 22, as against the target of 16988 TMT.

 According to the data released by the Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry Oil companies have failed to meet its target in producing crude oil as well as natural gas from domestic fields. The Ministry claimed that one of the main reasons for reduction is due to delay in installations of wellhead platforms because of Covid impact from Cluster 8 fields and delay in mobilization of MOPU (Mobile Offshore Production Unit) Sarag Samrat from WO-16 cluster.

 Another reasons for decline is crude production is scaling in wells and delay in H2S package at R-13A wells and less gas production from B &S Asset, the Ministry claimed. Though the Covid-19 impact was largely over yet the production in the month of January was 6% lower than the target.

In natural gas production also, domestic gas fields could produce only 28525 MMSCMD (Million Metric Standard Cubic Meter of Gas per Day) against the target of 31562 from April 21 to January 22. 

There is a shortfall of about 5 % in the natural gas production and the reasons include less off take by customers, delay in scheduled operations (apparently due to Covid-19), less than anticipated production from some gas fields in Rajasthan, claimed a senior officer of the Union Petroleum Ministry.