Is India Becoming Less Self-Sufficient for Petroleum?

Notorious for chaotic traffic and heavily polluted air, India is one of the biggest fuel guzzlers on the planet. Though despite its reliance on oil, the latest data suggests that India’s petroleum self-sufficiency has hit its lowest point since 2011.

During the last financial year, India’s petroleum self-sufficiency fell to just 17.9% of total consumption. This means that the nation was able to supply less than one fifth of its needs. The data was released by Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC), and was calculated using the total production from indigenous crude and condensate, compared against the total petroleum consumption of the country.

Consumption outpaces production

While self-sufficiency did drop, the figure was heavily influenced by India’s rapidly growing demand for petroleum products. In the last financial year, India’s total consumption was estimated at 194.2 million tonnes. Meanwhile, total production from indigenous crude and condensate was 34.8 million tonnes. In comparison, India consumed 148 million tonnes of oil in 2011, with indigenous production estimated at 35.6 million tonnes. So, while production has dropped slightly, the 17.9% drop was largely triggered by the fact that consumption has soared by more than 46 million tonnes.

“Total crude oil processed in April 2017 was 20 million tonnes, a marginal decrease of 0.8 per cent over April 2016. There was a decrease of 4.5 per cent in indigenous crude oil processed over April 2016,” reads the official PPAC report.

Imports bridge the gap

So, how is India satiating its thirst for petroleum? For 2016-2017, the country’s total gross petroleum imports were estimated at a huge $80.8 billion. Crude accounts for $70 billion of this amount, with PPAC forecasting that by 2017-18 it will jump to $88 billion.

It seems accurate, but not everyone’s onboard. According to Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas M. Veerappa Moily, India will become self-sufficient in the energy sector by 2030. He predicts a 50% drop by 202, 75% drop by 2025 and total independence by 2030.

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