The Crude Reality

Cheaper crude oil imports from Russia have been a relief, but India has to step up domestic production

- M.G. Arun

Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas

THE OIL-GUZZLING NATION that we are, India saw its crude oil imports rise to 232.4 million tonnes in 2022-23, a 9.4 per cent year-on-year growth. In value terms, the imports, which help meet over 80 per cent of the country’s crude oil requirement, stood at $158.3 billion (Rs 13 lakh crore), a 31 per cent y-o-y rise.