India's net oil and gas import bill rose a fifth to USD 69 billion in the first half of the current fiscal year as domestic production failed to catch up with the consumption growth.

India imports crude oil, liquefied natural gas (LNG) and refined products such as LPG, petcoke and fuel oil. It also exports refined products such as diesel, petrol and jet fuel.

Crude oil imports were worth USD 71.3 billion during April-September, up 11% from USD 63.7 billion. Crude imports rose 4% in volume terms. Brent, the international crude benchmark, averaged USD 81 per barrel this fiscal year compared to USD 82 in the previous year.

India's import of refined products increased 13% to USD 12.1 billion while exports fell 7% to USD 22 billion.

India's inability to find a major oil discovery for years has weighed on its crude production, as matured fields like Mumbai High have witnessed a consistent decline in output. ONGC, which accounts for two-thirds of India's crude production, has witnessed a 3% production decline this fiscal year. Production from fields operated by the private sector, such as Vedanta, has fallen 7%. Output at Vedanta's flagship Barmer field has been falling for several years.

"The production decline trend will continue until we make a big discovery and put it to production," an industry executive said, adding that investments in old fields can slow the decline in output but can't quite reverse the trend.

At the same time, India's consumption of petroleum products has been rising, increasing 3.1% year-on-year during April-September. This has pushed up the country's import dependence to 88.2%, up from 87.6% last year.

This year, the net import bill was also inflated by a decline in refined product exports due to an oversupply in the global diesel market.

An expanded demand for natural gas by power plants during the scorching summer season boosted imports of liquefied natural gas. The LNG imports increased 18% to USD 7.7 billion on a 23% rise in volumes. Benchmark LNG prices for the Asian region averaged USD 12.5 per mmbtu during the April-September period compared to USD 12 in the previous year.

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