Domestic gas output falls 19% in April, crude production down 8%

The Domestic natural gas production fell 18.9% to 2,155 million metric standard cubic metre (MMSCM) in April. The 2.5 million tonne (MT) of crude oil produced in the country in the month was also 7.7% lower than the production from a year-ago period. The development coincides with domestic consumption of petroleum products falling 46% y-o-y to 18.3 MT in April, when the lockdown to contain the spread of the coronavirus was implemented throughout the month.

Indigenous crude oil production caters to about only 15% of the country’s requirements, while for natural gas, 51% of requirement has to be imported. Domestic natural gas output fell 5.2% y-o-y to 31,166 MMSCM in FY20, reversing the growth trend recorded since FY18. Also, the 32.1 MT of crude oil produced in the country in the fiscal was 1.2% lower than the output from a year-ago period.