Low prices soothe India’s oil and gas import bill in 2019-2020
The decline in global commodity prices have helped the country increase imports of petroleum products and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) in 2019-2020.
New Delhi: Steep decline in global prices have helped India reduce its oil and gas import bill in 2019-2020, providing relief to the government at a time the Covid-19 pandemic has impacted economic activity.The decline in global commodity prices have helped the country increase imports of petroleum products and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) in 2019-2020 without inflating the import bill, data published by oil ministry’s statistical arm PPAC and the commerce ministry showed.India’s oil imports, including petroleum products, decreased 8.15 per cent to $129 billion in 2019-2020, as compared to the year ago period. In volume, oil imports increased four per cent to 270 Million Tonne (MT).The country’s import of LNG spiked 17 per cent to 33,680 Million Standard Cubic Meter (MMSCM) in 2019-2020. In value terms, however, imports declined 7.76 per cent to $9.5 billion.Refinery shutdown initiated by state-owned refiners in 2019-2020 meant to supply Bharat Stage VI fuel country-wide led to a spike in petroleum product imports last financial year, data showed.Imports of petroleum products last financial year grew 29 per cent to 42.8 MT. According to the oil ministry, imports of all petroleum products except naphtha and aviation turbine fuel increased last financial year. In value terms petroleum products’ imports increased to $17.8 billion in 2019-2020.Low commodity prices are helping the government maintain trade deficit. However, the 40-day lockdown to contain the spread of the Coronavirus is denting the country’s domestic oil demand and impacting the government’s revenue from taxes it imposes on crude oil and petroleum products, news agency Bloomberg said. It quoted an economist as saying the drop in consumption of fuel in April would lead to a revenue loss of $5.3 billion for the government.
