The Hindu Business Line : Crude output up 5.6%, gas down by 2% last fiscal

New Delhi April 30 The country's crude oil output for the financial year ended March 2007 was up 5.6 per cent to 33.98 million tonne (mt) compared with 32.19 mt in the previous fiscal. Crude oil output in March rose 3.2 per cent to 2.93 mt from 2.84 mt in the corresponding month last year, according to a Government data.

However, the gas output for the fiscal under review fell by 2 per cent due to lower offtake by consumers, environmental reasons, less than anticipated gain from new exploratory wells and miscreant activities in various operational areas.

In the last fiscal year (April 2006-March 2007), the country produced 31.55 billion cubic metres (BCM) of natural gas, down from 32.20 BCM a year earlier. The natural gas output during the month under review was 0.7 per cent lower at 2.78 BCM) compared with 2.80 BCM in the same month last year.

India imports almost 76 per cent of the crude oil it processes, making it the country's largest import item in dollar terms. One tonne of crude oil is equivalent to 7.33 barrels. India is Asia's third biggest oil user. The country's refiners such as Indian Oil Corporation Ltd and Reliance Industries Ltd processed 146.55 mt in the financial year ended March 31, 2007, compared with 130.11 mt in the same period previous year.

In March, the refineries processed 13.53 mt, up 13.4 per cent from 11.92 mt processed in the corresponding month last year. This was mainly due to expansion in refinery capacity and number units exceeded their planned.

The refinery utilisation rate in the last fiscal year stood at 107.7 per cent of capacity, up from 100.2 per cent in 2005-2006 fiscal year. The refineries ran at 106.9 per cent of their capacity in March compared with 106 per cent a year earlier.