The domestic natural gas output continued to see a drop for the seventh straight month in June.
The gas output fell 11.7 per cent year-on-year to 3.975 billion cubic metre (bcm) during the month. This has resulted in higher dependence on imported gas to meet the domestic demand.
This is because Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), operator of the biggest gas fields in the country, continued to produce less resulting in higher dependence on imported gas.
According to data released by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, the output from offshore fields fell 15 per cent year-on-year to 3.242 bcm. Currently, RIL-operated D6 field, is producing about 48-49 mscmd of gas from a maximum level of 60 mscmd.
The output from the fields started to decline from October last year because of technical problems in the reservoir.
Currently, about 150 mscmd of gas is available in domestic market of which 115 mscmd is indigenously produced. The public sector gas transmission company GAIL (India) Ltd is currently ferrying 120 mscmd gas in the domestic market.
Of this 120 mscmd, gas from D6 gas is in the range of 32 mscmd, imported gas is 25 mscmd, gas from Panna-Mukta-Tapti fields is 12 mscmd, and the remaining is administered price gas from the ONGC fields.
With the RIL-BP deal getting Government nod, expectations are high that RIL will be able to check the output using the technical expertise of the British firm.
CRUDE OUTPUT
The country's crude oil output during June grew 7.7 per cent year-on-year to 3.166 million tonne. Crude oil output was pushed up by higher production from onshore fields including Cairn India operated Rajasthan fields.
The refiners of the country imported 13.67 million tonne of crude oil during June, marginally up from May. Imports of petroleum products stood at 1.509 million tonne.
REFINERY OUTPUT
Domestic refiners turned 4.7 per cent more crude oil into fuel in June year-on-year. According to the data, the domestic refiners (both public and private) processed 14.137 million tonne crude (13.502 million tonne).
While the 17 public sector refineries processed 7.1 per cent more crude during the month, the combined output of the private refineries was marginally down at 0.8 per cent year-on-year.
The data did not give reasons for the drop in output at the private refineries. RIL processed 1.5 per cent less crude from its first refinery in Jamnagar at 2.863 million tonne. RIL does not report data for its second refinery in Jamnagar which is an export-oriented unit.
Output from Essar Oil's Vadinar refinery was up 0.8 per cent year-on-year.
The total capacity utilisation by public and private sector refineries combined was 114 per cent in June. Exports of petroleum products during the month stood at 4.529 million tonne.