Domestic crude oil, natural gas production fall in January
By TIOL News Service
NEW DELHI, FEB 20, 2021: ON an annual basis, India's crude oil production in January fell by 4.6 per cent to 2.57 million tonne while natural gas production dropped 2.2 per cent to 2.55 billion cubic metre due to operational difficulties related to the COVID-19 pandemic, said the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas on Friday.
Crude and natural gas production in January was also 7.95 per cent and 19.20 per cent, respectively, lower than the target for the month. The production target of crude oil was 2.97 million tonne while that for natural gas was 3.15 billion cubic metre.
The ministry said the production targets planned from several oil and gas fields, and companies could not be met due to delays caused by the COVID-19 restrictions and lockdowns.
Total crude oil production during April-January 2020-21 was 25.55 million tonne which is also 5.6 per cent lower than the corresponding period in the previous fiscal, while natural gas is down 10.4 per cent at 23.67 billion cubic metre.
But even as production fell, India's crude processing registered its second straight year-on-year gain in January as fuel demand improved due to the government's push for restarting the economy. Crude oil throughput in January rose 0.6 per cent to 21.81 million tonne compared to the year ago period, and a 3.8 per cent increase from the previous month.
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