In the financial year 2023-24, India’s crude oil import bill stood at $132.40 billion, a notable decrease from the $157.50 billion spent in 2022-23. Despite importing a similar volume of crude oil, approximately 232.5 million tonnes, India achieved significant savings in value terms, amounting to a 16% reduction. The primary factors contributing to this saving were the lower average cost of crude oil imports and the purchase of discounted Russian oil.
The average cost of India’s crude oil imports in 2023-24 was $82.58 per barrel, a significant drop from the $93.15 per barrel recorded in the previous fiscal year. This decline in the Indian basket price, which represents an average of Oman and Dubai for sour grades and Brent for sweet grade, further contributed to the savings.
Moreover, India’s imports of petroleum products also witnessed a decline in value, from $28.2 billion in 2022-23 to $25.1 billion in 2023-24. These imports include LPG, naphtha, bitumen, and fuel oil. Consequently, India’s gross petroleum imports, which encompass both crude oil and petroleum products, exhibited a declining trend in value terms, despite an increase in import quantities. In 2023-24, gross imports amounted to 280.5 million tonnes, valued at $155.8 billion, compared to the previous year’s imports of 277.3 million tonnes, valued at $184.4 billion.
As a significant global crude oil refining hub, India exported petroleum products worth $47.4 billion in 2023-24, primarily to Africa and Europe. This represented a slight decrease from the $57.3 billion worth of exports in 2022-23. India’s total installed refining capacity stands at 256.8 million metric tonnes per annum (MMTPA), and the country processed 261.5 MT in 2023-24, surpassing the target for the year (251.7) and the output in 2022-23 (255.2 MT).
The Indian refining industry encompasses approximately two dozen refineries owned and operated by both public and private entities. Major state-run refineries include Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum, and Hindustan Petroleum. Reliance Industries and Nayara Energy operate private refineries, while HPCL-Mittal Energy is a joint venture between Hindustan Petroleum and the LN Mittal group.
