Lok Sabha Question No. 3001 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-03-15
Subject: Reduction in Import of Oil
Ministry: PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS
Asked by: Gopal Chinayya Shetty, Faizal P.P. Mohammed, Behanan Benny, Vishnu Dayal Ram, L.S. Tejasvi Surya, Prathap Simha

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.3001 TO BE ANSWERED ON 15 TH MARCH, 2021

## Reduction in Import of Oil

## 3001.  SHRI GOPAL CHINNAYA SHETTY:

SHRI MOHAMMED FAIZAL P.P.:

SHRI BENNY BEHANAN:

SHRI VISHNU DAYAL RAM:

SHRI L.S. TEJASVI SURYA:

SHRI PRATHAP SIMHA:

पेोिलयम और ाकृितक गैस मंी

## Will the Minister of PETROLEUM AND NATURALGAS be pleased tostate:

- (a)  the  details  of  petroleum  products  imported  during  the  last  three  years,  till  date,  year-wise including the funds spent by the country on the said import;
- (b)  whether  the  country  is  dependent  on  crude  oil  imports  from  abroad  and  if  so,  the  current percentage of import out of total crude oil demand in the country;
- (c) whether the international and domestic supply of petroleum and natural gas is facing a crunch post COVID19 pandemic and if so, its estimated recovery thereof and whether the Government has  developed  a  strategy  to  avoid  vulnerability  caused  by  global  price  fluctuations,  if  so,  the details thereof;
- (d) the details of the progress made since 2014 towards reducing India's oil import dependence by 10 per cent by 2022 when compared to 2015-16, year-wise including the details of actions taken  by  the  Government  to  reduce  India's  oil  import  dependence  from  2014  including  the resulting drop in oil import dependence, if any; and
- (e) whether the Government has any plan to come up with an alternative strategy to source oil domestically  and  whether  the  Government  is  undertaking  research  and  exploration  to  unearth more domestic crude oil reserves and whether any success have been  achieved in finding the same?

## A N S W E R

पेोिलयम और ाकृितक गैस मंी ( ी धमन् धान )

## MINISTER PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS (SHRI DHARMENDRA PRADHAN)

- (a)  The  details  of  petroleum  products  imported  during  the  last  three  years  and  current  year (quantity as well as value) are as below:

| Year                        | Quantity      | Value        | Value      |
|-----------------------------|---------------|--------------|------------|
|                             | Million tonne | US$(Billion) | ₹ (Crores) |
| 2017-18                     | 35.5          | 13.6         | 88374      |
| 2018-19                     | 33.3          | 16.3         | 113665     |
| 2019-20                     | 43.8          | 17.7         | 125742     |
| 2020-21 (April-January) (P) | 35.5          | 10.8         | 80719      |

(b) The details of crude oil import and crude oil processed (indigenous + imported) along with the percentage during the last three years and current year are as below:

| Particulars                                                                | 2017-18                                                      | 2018-19                                                      | 2019-20                                                      | 2020-21 (April- January) (P)                                 |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------|
| Quantity of crude oil import (A) (In MMT)                                  | 220.4                                                        | 226.5                                                        | 227.0                                                        | 162.8                                                        |
| Quantity of crude oil processed (imported + indigenous) (B) (In MMT)       | 251.9                                                        | 257.2                                                        | 254.4                                                        | 182.2                                                        |
| Percentage of crude oil import out of total crude oil processed {(A)/(B)}% | 87.5                                                         | 88.1                                                         | 89.2                                                         | 89.4                                                         |
| Source: Petroleum Planning &Analysis Cell, (P) : Provisional               | Source: Petroleum Planning &Analysis Cell, (P) : Provisional | Source: Petroleum Planning &Analysis Cell, (P) : Provisional | Source: Petroleum Planning &Analysis Cell, (P) : Provisional | Source: Petroleum Planning &Analysis Cell, (P) : Provisional |

(c) There was no crunch of international and domestic supply of crude oil and natural gas in the country  post    COVID  19  pandemic.  Due  to  constant  efforts  in  diversifying  sources  of  crude supply and engagement, both, bilaterally and in regional formats, Government of India has been able  to  ensure  timely  and  sufficient  crude  oil  supplies  to  Indian  refineries.    Moreover,  oil companies have also actively pursued diversification of oil supplies from new sources of crude oil  through  long  term  contracts.To  avoid  vulnerability  caused  by  global  price  fluctuations, refineries  maintain  optimum  inventory  levels  to  strike  balance  between  risk  of  inventory holdings and availability of crude for continuous operations.

(d)  &  (e)  Government  has  taken  multiple  steps  since  2014  to  reduce  country's  oil  import dependency by 10 per cent by 2022 through refinery process improvements and various policies under Production Sharing Contract (PSC) regime, Discovered Small Field Policy, Hydrocarbon Exploration and Licensing Policy, Setting up of National Data Repository, etc. Government has also provided functional freedom  to National Oil Companies  and  wider  private sector participation by streamlining approval processes including electronic single window mechanism.

Government  has  launched  National  Biofuel  Policy,  2018,  to  boost  availability  of  biofuels  in country  and  use  of  alternative  fuels  like  ethanol,  bio-diesel  and  bio  CNG  through  Ethanol Blending,  Bio-diesel  blending  and  Sustainable  Alternative  Towards  Affordable  Transportation (SATAT) initiative  respectively.

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