Page 6 - AsianOil Week 16 2021

AsianOil SOUTH ASIA AsianOil

India’s oil, gas production

continues to fall

PERFORMANCE INDIAN oil and gas production fell in fiscal
year 2020-2021, which ended on March 31, as
the country’s lockdowns in response to the coro-
navirus (COVID-19) pandemic forced state-run
and private operators to curb production.
Crude oil production shrank by 5.2% year on
year to 30.5mn tonnes (612,500 barrels per day)
in 2020-2021 from 32.17mn tonnes (646,000
bpd) in the previous period, according to Minis-
try of Petroleum and Natural Gas data published
on April 20.
Natural gas production, meanwhile,
slipped by slightly more than 8% on the year to
28.67bn cubic metres from 31.18 bcm output in
2019-2020.
State-run Oil and Natural Gas Corp. (ONGC)
and Oil India Ltd (OIL) produced 2% and 5.4%
less oil respectively, while private operators such
as Vedanta saw their output dip 12.6%.
India’s oil production largely comes for older y/y on the back of new production from Reli-
fields that are in natural decline. While invest- ance Industries Ltd (RIL) and BP’s deepwater
ment in exploration continues, developers do KG-DWN-98/3 (KG-D6) block.
not have enough new projects in the pipeline to The block’s D-34 field saw its output climb
turn around the decline anytime soon. from 1.3mn cubic metres per day in December
The Indian Express quoted an unnamed 2020, when it came on stream, to 9.6 mcm per
industry source as saying “there was no more day last month.
easy oil and gas” to be found in India. The daily’s India’s lockdowns also hit the downstream
source added that producers need to invest in sector hard in the 2020-2021 fiscal period, with
more expensive and technologically challenging run rates contracting by 13% y/y to 221.7mn
fields, pointing out ultra-deepwater reserves as tonnes (4.45mn bpd) in 2020-2021. Demand for
one example. oil products fell by more than 9% y/y in 2020-
This point was highlighted by the country’s 2021 to 194.6mn tonnes from 214.1mn tonnes
gas production in March, which grew by 11% in 2019-2020.™

Indian gas production

may soar 50% by 2024

PROJECTS & INDIA’S natural gas production may have slumped 20 showing that gas production shrank by
COMPANIES is the last fiscal period, but a new research report slightly more than 8% year on year in fis-
has projected that the country’s output may jump cal year 2020-2021 to 28.67bn cubic metres
by more than half in the next few years. (78.54 mcm per day).
Financial services provider HDFC Securities HDFC Securities, however, believes that new
said this week that new production from the deepwater projects led by state Oil and Natu-
deepwater fields in the Krishna Godavari (KG) ral Gas Corp. (ONGC) as well as the Reliance
Basin, which lies in the Bay of Bengal, could Industries Ltd (RIL) and BP consortium will
boost production from around 78.5mn cubi drive a production recovery this year.
metres per day in fiscal year 2020-2021 to 122 The brokerage expects national output to
mcm per day by 2024. climb to 93 mcm per day in 2021-2022, 107 mcm
The Indian Ministry of Petroleum and per day in 2022-2023 and 122 mcm per day in
Natural Gas published new data on April 2023-2024.

P6 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 16 22•April•2021