India’s crude oil production fell by 5 per cent in November primarily due to a sharp drop in output at Rajasthan oilfields operated by private sector Cairn Vedanta, government data showed on Tuesday.
India is dependent on imports for 85 per cent of its needs and the government is pushing domestic explorers to raise output to help cut down imports.
Crude oil production in November at 2.48 million tonnes was lower than 2.61 million tonnes produced in the same month a year back.
Rajasthan fields produced 9.6 per cent less crude oil at 476,990 tonnes as Mangala, Aishwarya and other fields in the Cairn block flowed less oil for a variety of reasons, according to data released by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.
