Comments
The domestic crude oil output dipped 3.97 per cent, while natural gas production went down by 20.08 per cent in February 2013 when compared to the corresponding period in the previous year.
GAS OUTPUT
The country pumped out 2.884 billion cubic metres of gas in February against 3.609 billion cubic metres in the same month last year.
ONGC’s gas production in February dipped 5.8 per cent to 1.804 billion cubic metres. The public sector company suffered a drop in output because of lower offtake by consumers in Tamil Nadu and Tripura. Also, there was a delay in the execution of G-1 field in offshore.
In the case of Oil India, gas output went down 1.8 per cent to 1.963 billion cubic metres on account of lower drawal by customers such as Numaligarh Refinery and Brahmaputra Valley Fertilizer Corporation Ltd.
The sharpest fall in gas output was witnessed in the fields operated by private explorers such as Reliance Industries, Cairn India and BG India. Output from these fields dropped by 40.8 per cent to 0.882 billion cubic metres.
The production in Cambay Basin (CB/OS-2) operated by Cairn India dropped because of a natural decline. In the Cauvery Basin, production was less than expected due to water loading in PY-1, while PY-3 fields have been under complete shutdown since July 2011 because of the expiry of contract.
The production from the most prolific KG D6 basin, operated by Reliance Industries Ltd, fell because eight wells in D1, D3 and another two wells in MA have ‘ceased to flow due to water and sand ingress,’ said the Petroleum Ministry. Currently, the output from the KG D6 block has fallen to 16 mmscmd.
CRUDE PRODUCTION
ONGC drilled 5.2 per cent less crude oil in February at 1.742 million tonnes against 1.838 million tonnes in the same month last year.
The public sector explorer’s Mumbai High asset saw its production going down by 4.7 per cent. According to the nodal Ministry, base potential was affected due to lower availability of inputs. At the same time, there have been less-than-targeted gains in output from development wells in the asset.
Major bandhs and blockages by organisations in Assam in February led to a 13 per cent dip in output by Oil India. However, private explorers drilled 1.8 per cent more crude oil at 0.868 million tonnes in February.
CONSUMPTION
Consumption of petroleum products saw a marginal dip of 1.5 per cent in February.
According to the PPAC, total consumption of products in the month stood at 12.249 million tonnes against 12.436 million tonnes in the same month of the previous year.
REFINERY THROUGHPUT
The higher refinery throughput was pushed by public sector refiners such as BPCL and HPCL and private company Essar Oil. BPCL processed 18.3 per cent more crude, while HPCL turned 4.7 per cent more raw oil into products. But, the largest refiner IOC saw its refinery throughput dropping by 1.5 per cent.
RIL’s Jamnagar complex processed 4.2 per cent less crude in February this year (2.761 million tonnes) against the same month (2.883 million tonnes) last year. This was because of a routine shutdown. RIL does not share data for its second refinery in Jamnagar, which is an export oriented unit. Essar Oil’s Vadinar unit refined 20.3 per cent more crude oil at 1.573 million tonnes in February 2013 against 1.308 million tonnes in the same month of the previous year.
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.