India’s crude oil production declined 2.67% in the
financial year ending March 31, 2022, as state-owned ONGC produced less than
the target, but natural gas output increased helped by KG production by
Reliance-BP.

Crude oil production stood at 29.69 million tonnes in
fiscal 2021-22, down 2.63% from the 30.5 million tonnes production in fiscal
2020-21. Total production fell 11.67% short of the target of 33.61 million
tonnes, according to official data released by the oil ministry.

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India’s crude oil production is declining over the past
few years. From 35.7 million tonnes in 2017-18, it fell to 34.2 million tonnes
in the next year and 32.2 in 2019-20 and 30.5 million tonnes in 2020-21.

The decline in production comes at a time when global oil
prices are at their highest levels in decades amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine
war.

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The main cause behind the decline is the ageing fields
where natural production decline has set in. The production is being maintained
by investing in technologies to boost the recovery rate.

In the financial year 2021-22, Oil and Natural Gas
Corporation (ONGC) produced 19.45 million tonnes of crude oil, which was 13.82%
lower than the target and 3.62% below the output in the previous fiscal year.

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ONGC said this was due to less-than-estimated production
from the WO-16 cluster in the western offshore due to a delay in the
mobilisation of a production unit and less oil in the NBP field due to an
inspection-related shutdown.

However, Natural gas production surged 18.66% to 34
billion cubic meters in FY22.

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This comes after Reliance Industries Ltd and its partner
BP Plc started output from newer fields in the eastern offshore KG-D6 block.

Five-times higher output from eastern offshore at 1.34
bcm offset a 5.7% decline in production by ONGC.

With demand returning with a recovery in economic
activity, refineries processed 9% more crude oil at 241.7 million tonnes in
2021-22 fiscal.

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They produced 254.3 million tonnes of petroleum products,
up from 233.5 million tonnes in the previous year and the target of 249.8
million tonnes for the financial year.

Refinery run was 89% of the capacity in the fiscal, the
data showed.