Crude oil refining output rose 2.2% to 21.9 MMT in July: Oil Ministry

Domestic crude production rose 2.1 percent to 2.5 million metric tonnes

Indian refiners processed 21.9 million metric tonnes (MMT) of crude oil in July, a 2.2 per cent increase compared to the 21.42 MMT processed in July 2022, according to data released by the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) on Tuesday. The refining throughput saw a sequential increase of 1.7 per cent from June.

Out of the total processed, government-owned oil public sector undertakings (PSUs) and joint ventures accounted for 14.7 MMT, while private refiners processed 7.2 MMT of crude oil.

Meanwhile, domestic crude production witnessed an annual rise of 2.1 per cent, reaching 2.50 MMT in July. The production marked a sequential growth of 2.8 per cent from the 2.43 MMT registered in June. Out of the 2.5 MMT produced, state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) contributed 1.62 MMT, followed by Oil India Limited (OIL) at 0.28 MMT.

In the month under review, crude oil imports decreased by 6.3 per cent to 19.32 MMT, compared to the corresponding period in the previous year.

During the first four months of the current financial year, crude oil import volumes have cumulatively reduced by 2.3 per cent. In this period, imports from Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) decreased to 45 per cent of total imports, a significant drop from 63.8 per cent during the same period in the previous year.

According to estimates by London-based commodity data analytics provider Vortexa, which uses ship movements to gauge imports, Russia remained the single-largest supplier of crude oil for the 10th consecutive month as of July.