India's crude oil output rises 0.8% in May

The increase was on account of 1.8% rise in ONGC's oil output at 1.9 million tons

India's crude oil production rose marginally by 0.8 per cent in May on the back of improved performance by state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC).

Crude oil production at 3.18 million tons in May was 0.8 per cent more than 3.16 million tons in the same month a year ago, an official statement issued here said.

The increase was on account of 1.8 per cent rise in ONGC's oil output at 1.9 million tons. Its western offshore fields produced 8.5 per cent more crude oil at 1.3 million tons and helped tied over a 9 per cent drop in onshore output at 0.48 million tons.

However in April-May, the first two months of the current fiscal, the nation's crude oil production dipped 1 per cent to 6.05 million tons. While ONGC produced 1.7 per cent more crude oil at 3.71 million tons, fields operated by private firms saw a 6.3 per cent dip at 1.92 million tons.

Natural gas production declined 3.1 per cent in May to 2.85 billion cubic meters as ONGC saw dip in output. ONGC saw gas output dip by 1.8 per cent to 1.9 bcm while eastern offshore production dropped 8.9 per cent to 403.16 million cubic meters.

"Restricted gas withdrawal by GAIL in view of safety issues of GAIL's pipeline" was the reasons for lower output from eastern offshore fields, the statement said.

In April-May, India's gas production decreased 3.3 per cent to 6 bcm. ONGC's output was down 1.7 per cent at 3.67 bcm.

The nation's 22 refineries processed 19.7 million tons of crude oil in May, 7.9 per cent higher than 18.27 million tons of crude oil turned into fuel in the same month last fiscal. Public sector refiners processed 15 per cent more crude oil at 10.6 million tons while Reliance Industries' twin refineries at Jamnagar saw crude throughput fall of 2.6 per cent at 5.8 million tons.

Essar Oil's Vadinar refinery, the only other private refiner in the country, processed 1.4 per cent more crude oil at 1.76 million tons.

In April-May, refineries processed 2.6 per cent more crude oil at 36.8 million tons with state units seeing 6.4 per cent surge at 20 million tons.

RIL's crude oil processing in the first two months of current fiscal was down 0.8 per cent at 10.8 million tons.

Refineries operated at 102.65 per cent of the capacity in May and at just over 100 per cent in April-May.

The refineries produced 5.6 per cent more petroleum products at 19.51 million tons in May and 0.5 per cent more in April-May at 35.96 million tons.