India’s dependency on imports of oil and oil-equivalent-gas, which stood at 78.6 per cent in FY23, is expected to rise beyond 80 per cent in the next four years, Parliament was informed on Thursday.

To meet the consumption of petroleum products and the requirement of oil refineries in the country, domestic oil and gas companies import crude oil, Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Rameswar Teli, said in a written reply in Lok Sabha.

“During FY23, the country’s oil and oil equivalent gas import dependency is 78.6 per cent (provisional) which is expected to increase to above 80 per cent by 2027-28. This estimate is based on various assessments/ assumptions of growth in consumption and domestic production,” the Minister added.

To meet this higher requirement, India is expanding its crude oil refining capacity.

At present, India’s refining capacity is 253.9 million tonnes per annum, (mtpa). As per the Centre for High Technology (CHT), a technical wing of Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG), the refining capacity of Indian refineries is projected to increase by about 56 mtpa by the year 2028, Teli informed the lower house.

“Government has adopted a five-pronged strategy that comprises increasing domestic production of oil and gas, promoting energy efficiency and conservation measures, giving thrust on demand substitution, promoting biofuels and other alternate fuels/ renewables, EV charging facilities and refinery process improvements for reducing the county’s oil dependence on imported crude oil,” Teli said.

Various steps have been taken by the government to increase the production of domestic crude oil and bring down imports. These inter-alia include Discovered Small Field Policy, Reforms in Hydrocarbon Exploration and Licensing Policy for enhancing domestic exploration and production of Oil and Gas 2019, Natural Gas Marketing Reforms 2020, to promote and incentivise enhanced recovery methods for Oil and Gas, Redevelopment of existing matured fields and development of new/marginal fields, Revival of Sick Wells, among others, he added.