Going for more professionalism in PSUs via equity dilution: Dharmendra Pradhan
State-run companies need to be more accountable to the people of the country and the government has taken the decision to dilute equity stake for making them more professional, Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Thursday The Union Cabinet on Wednesday decided to sell its entire stake in three enterprises and bring down stake below 51 per cent in select PSUs. The opposition Congress on Thursday staged protests in Parliament against privatisation of oil PSU BPCL and Shipping Corp. “We need to be accountable…that is why we took these decisions. The Prime Minister took these decisions in Cabinet meeting yesterday. We are going for equity dilution that means going for more professionalism. and I believe you (PSUs) must…promote it,” the steel minister said in his address at the ISA Steel Conclave event here. Pradhan also urged steel PSUs SAIL and RINL to be more competitive. If private industry can produce steel facing competition from their competitors and and that in same market conditions, then SAIL and Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd (RINL) will also have to do the same, he said. The minister said said it is not him or the SAIL management that owns the entity but the general public, hence the accountability of the government is more towards the people. “Since these are government companies our accountability is more towards people,” Pradhan said. The country’s largest steel maker SAIL posted a loss of Rs 342.84 crore for the July-September quarter. The minister also asked the steel industry to work towards the mission of Green Steel, according to a release. “Industry must deploy technology, innovation to develop environment friendly processes,” the minister said. The Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry has launched Pradhan Mantri Urja Ganga project in the Eastern India, which can provide gas to all the Steel plants, located in the area. Being an environment-friendly and affordable fuel, the Steel industry should move towards it, replacing coal, he said.
ONGC projects marginal rise in oil production, cuts gas output guidance from KG block
India’s state-owned petroleum explorer Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) is likely to witness only a marginal rise in crude oil production by 2024 and has cut an earlier guidance on gas output from flagship block KG-98/2, a company executive said during an analyst call post the second quarter results. The executive told analysts ONGC expects marginal increase in total crude oil production by 2024 from the current annual level of 23-24 Million Tonne and the contribution from its mega offshore deep water project – KG-DWN-98/2 – will result in an increase in gas production to 35 Billion Cubic Meter (BCM) by 2024, as compared to a projection of 40 BCM made earlier. “As far as oil is concerned till 2022, 2023 and 2024, you can take same level plus 2 MT on account of KG 98/2 coming online. Current fiscal we will produce over 25 BCM of gas. From 2021-2022, when KG 98/2 starts contributing in a major way, from that time onwards the production will be between 32-35 bcm. So, between 2021 and 2024 there will be a build up annually with production rate around 32 BCM and in 2023-2024 it will reach around 35 bcm, lower than our earlier guidance of 40 bcm,” the executive said during the analyst call. The company’s mega offshore deep-water project in the east coast is one of ONGC’s biggest and most ambitious projects where it aims to invest up to $5 billion during the entire lifecycle of the asset. Peak production from KG basin is projected to account for 17 per cent and 24 per cent of current standalone annual oil and gas production. “All of our fields are old and it is not unusual for fields to face a declining trend. Most of our production comes from offshore fields and because of weather window many activities could not be carried out in Mumbai during this time. All efforts are underway to arrest the decline as far as Mumbai is concerned,” the executive said. He also said the company plans to spend Rs 35,000 crore in 2021-2022 as compared to Rs 32,000 crore planned for the current fiscal year ending March 2020. ONGC’s crude oil production during the first six months of the current financial year declined 4.7 per cent to 11.71 Million Tonne while gas production during the period increased marginally to 12.66 BCM. The company expects its crude oil production to fall from 24.23 million tonne in 2018-19 to 23.8 Million Tonne this fiscal. Natural gas production is expected to decline to 25 BCM in the current financial year from 25.81 BCM last year. The executive of the company also called for the government to deregulate natural gas prices as an incentive for exploration and production. “We strongly believe that there is no rational in bringing administered price as far as gas is concerned. We believe sooner than later if E&P activity in the country is to be promoted there has to be reforms in areas of pricing of gas. Price has to be discovered by the market rather than a formula. We are struggling to sell gas at the price at which it is currently prevailing,” he said. A panel led by Niti Aayog vice chairman Rajiv Kumar had reportedly suggested free-market pricing for natural gas produced from all fields to boost domestic production. Heads of multinational companies – BP and Total- also raised concerns over natural gas prices during a recent visit to India. Oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan, replying to a question asked in Parliament this week, said there is no proposal to change the formula for pricing of natural gas at present.
BPCL sale: Asset strip, two-phased share sale proposed to make BPCL attractive
With the aim to attract a larger number of investors to take over public sector oil refiner Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL), the government is looking at further stripping some assets from the parent entity while splitting the share sale plan into two phases. Official sources said that trifurcation of BPCL’s assets may be carried out before the government’s shares are put up for sale to strategic investors. Also, the government’s 53.29 per cent in the company may be sold in two phases with only between 28-30 per cent of the equity shares to be offered in the first phase to strategic investors with transfer of management control. “BPCL has few joint ventures where the holding of the other partner is substantial. It would be best to look at exit option from such joint ventures to avoid complications for strategic investors at a later stage,” another official with direct knowledge of the development said. “Like a carve out for BPCL’s Numaligarh Refinery approved by the Cabinet on Wednesday, BPCL may also exit from its 50:50 joint venture with Oman Oil Company for 7.8 million tonnes Bina refinery in Madhya Pradesh before being put to sale to strategic investors,” the official added. Oman Oil may be offered first right to take over balance 50 per cent in Bina Refinery, or Bharat Oman Refineries. The government is trying to make BPCL best fit case for a takeover as there is fear that no company, including global majors, may commit to invest close to Rs 1 lakh crore required to complete the BPCL transaction at one go. This includes about Rs 60,000 crore for taking over the entire government stake of 53.29 per cent in BPCL and balance for an expected open offer under the takeover regulations. So a two-phased share sale will automatically reduce the investment commitment of investors to just about Rs 30,000 crore. This would also work to the advantage of the government as it can completely exit BPCL later when the valuation of the company improves post infusion of funds by the strategic investor. With further asset strip, the strategic investor may have to shell out even lower to take control of BPCL. The government has tried this model earlier during the strategic disinvestment of metal and mining PSUs Hindustan Zinc Ltd (HZL) and BALCO. The then Atal Bihari Vajpayee government retained minority shareholding in these companies post sale and change of management control. Even now, the government is holding on to 24 per cent stake in Container Corporation of India (ConCor) while ceding management control to a strategic investor who will control 30 per cent shareholding. On its part, DIPAM is working out a plan to offload entire government equity to a strategic partner, possibly a large overseas oil entity like Saudi Aramco, Total, ExxonMobil, or BP. However, with oil market globally facing a slowdown with demand not picking up despite supply squeeze, the appetite for a large acquisition becomes difficult. While no Indian company looks like mobilising such huge funds for BPCL’s buy, industry experts hinted that companies from Russia and the Gulf region could be targeted to get the necessary investment. This, sources said, could be done through government to government talks as most oil companies in the region are state-controlled. BPCL, in present times, will be an attractive buy for companies ranging from Aramco of Saudi Arabia to French energy giant Total SA which are vying to enter the world’s fastest-growing fuel retail market including entry in retail space where BPCL has significant presence. Alternatively, the government could also keep other oil PSUs such as Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), or OIL India on a standby to go in for share buybacks in the event strategic sale to a private partner met with little success. BPCL operates four refineries at Mumbai, Kochi in Kerala, Bina in Madhya Pradesh and Numaligarh in Assam with a combined capacity to convert 38.3 million tonnes of crude oil into fuel. It has 15,078 petrol pumps and 6,004 LPG distributors. After the cabinet decision, BPCL’s strategic disinvestment will proceed without inclusion of Numaligarh Refinery. With a capacity of 3 million tonnes (mt), NRL is relatively small in scheme of things at BPCL. Its separation will not have much impact on BPCL’s valuation. But if Bina Refinery is divested, almost of fourth of BPCL’s refining capacity would be out from the parent, making BPCL a lot lighter. Sources said that it may be premature but the thinking is also to separate refining and retailing operations of BPCL as most global entities are more interested in getting a foothold in India’s fuel retailing operations than getting into fuel refining. Global companies are looking at outlet for their existing refining operations overseas and India with the tag of being third biggest fuel consumer, presents an attractive market. The government proposes to raise Rs 1.05 lakh crore from disinvestment in the current financial year. It had exceeded asset-sale targets of Rs 1 lakh crore in FY18 and Rs 80,000 crore in FY19.
RIL plans to invest Rs 70,000 crore for setting up crude-to-chemical projects at Jamnagar
Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries (RIL) plans to invest Rs 70,000 crore for setting up crude-to-chemical projects adjacent to the existing Jamnagar site, an integrated petroleum refinery and petrochemical complex, as part of its oil-to-chemical strategy, the company said in an application to the environment ministry. “Aligned to the national Make-in-India objective, RIL plans to optimally leverage the Jamnagar refinery + gasification assets, as a future growth platform, to maximize petrochemicals, termed as crude-to-chemicals. For setting up the crude-to-chemical growth projects in Jamnagar, RIL proposes to develop a total area of 2,000 acres adjacent to the existing Jamnagar supersite,” the company said as part of the application. RIL plans to undertake setting-up a host of oil-to-chemical units including multi-feed steam cracker to maximize chemical monomers, setting-up of Multizone Catalytic Cracking units for the conversion of feedstock to high-value propylene and ethylene, converting existing fluid catalytic cracking units to Petro FCC for maximizing production of olefins and aromatics instead of gasoline. The company also said it plans to set-up aromatic complex along with chemical complexes to produce streams of C1, C2, C3, C4 and C6 chemicals. Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest oil producer, earlier this year announced its decision to invest $75 billion to pick up a 20 percent stake in RIL’s oil-to-chemical business. The partnership will cover all of RIL’s refining and petrochemical assets, including 51 percent of the petroleum retail Joint Venture. Aramco will supply up to 500,000 barrels per day of crude oil on a long-term basis to the Jamnagar refinery. As part of RIL’s strategy to stay ahead of the curve amid a shift towards renewable energy and electric mobility, the company plans to transform the Jamnagar refinery from a primary producer of fuels to chemicals. The Jamnagar refinery, at the culmination of the oil-to-chemical transition, will only produce jet fuel and petrochemicals, according to the company. “All refined products priced below crude shall be eliminated for chemicals at the initial stage. Final fuel de-risking shall target the elimination of gasoline, alkylate and diesel, synchronized to the global evolution of E-mobility and transport fuel demand decline,” RIL had said in its 2018-2019 annual report. The company aims to achieve over 70 percent conversion of crude oil in Jamnagar to olefins and aromatics. RIL’s petrochemical production during the second quarter ended September increased to 9.9 Million Tonne (MT) from 9.4 MT in the corresponding quarter last year. The company’s market value briefly surpassed BP for the first time at the end of last month and it has now regained the lead over the British company after its shares hit a fresh high in Mumbai on Wednesday. RIL’s market capitalisation today edged closer to Rs 10 lakh crore mark, a first for any Indian company.
Putin attacks ‘strange’ European plans to reduce gas usage
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday rubbished European calls to reduce reliance on fossil fuels, saying that such ideas could lead to humans living in caves again. Speaking at an investment forum in Moscow, Putin also slammed shale gas production through fracking as dirty and environmentally damaging, saying Russia — one of the world’s top gas producers — would never use this technology. Asked what he thought of Europe’s moves to reduce use of gas, for which it is heavily dependent on Russia, Putin said that “in my view, disdaining such a clean hydrocarbon as gas is absolutely strange”. The European Union’s investment arm last week said it would stop funding fossil fuel projects — including gas — from 2022. “When people suggest such ideas, I think that mankind could end up back in caves again,” Putin saod. The Russian president said that “the way technology is today, without raw hydrocarbons, without nuclear power, without hydroelectric power, mankind can simply not survive, cannot preserve its civilisation”. He boasted that Russia’s relatively intense use of gas and hydroelectric power had an energy balance that is “one of the greenest in the world”. The extraction of shale gas through fracking — banned in many countries but booming in the United States — is “without any exaggeration barbaric”, Putin said. The extraction techniques “destroy the environment”, he said. “In some places where shale oil is being extracted, people don’t have water coming out of their taps, but black slush. “Despite all the possible economic advantages, we don’t need such extraction, we won’t do this ever.”
CPCB gets February 15 deadline to take ‘meaningful’ action
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) is fuming at the non-implementation of its order asking the state pollution control boards to recover compensation for environmental damage caused by the polluting units in 100 industrial clusters over the past five years. The pollution watchdog has warned of ‘coercive’ action against chairmen and member secretaries of state pollution control boards if they don’t submit ‘meaningful’ action against the clusters, 10 of which are in Gujarat, by February 15, 2020. In July, NGT had directed the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) to assess and recover compensation from polluting units in 100 industrial clusters across the country, including 10 clusters in Gujarat, for a period of last five years. NGT fixed interim compensation to be collected from large polluting units at Rs 1 crore, for medium-scale units it was Rs 50 lakh and in case of small industry the amount was Rs 25 lakh. The directions were issued by NGT in its November 14 order. The NGT reiterated its order of July this year, when it had directed CPCB and state pollution control boards to take recover compensation and furnish report regarding closure of polluting activities. The tribunal, which was hearing the issue of conversion of coal-based gasifiers in Morbi ceramic cluster into gas-based ones, had noted in July “while remedial action may certainly be planned, current violation of law could not be ignored and was actionable by way of stopping polluting activities initiating prosecution and recovering compensation on ‘polluter pays’ principal.” The NGT had then directed CPCB to assess compensation to be recovered form the polluting units for a period of last five years taking into the account the cost of restoration, damage to the public health and environment, and deterrence element. The green tribunal in its November 14 order warned “On default, the tribunal will have no option except to proceed against the chairman and member secretaries of pollution control board by way of coercive action.” The action may include replacement of persons heading pollution control boards or direction for stopping their salaries till the meaningful action for compliance of order of this this tribunal, the NGT asserted. The CPCB has categorized industrial clusters in three categories — Critically Polluted Area (CPA), Severally Polluted Area (SPA) and Other Polluted Area (OPA). The tribunal has asked CPCB to follow it’s earlier order in case of Vapi Green Enviro Limited to calculate interim compensation till the time it completes assessing environmental damage caused by individual units.
Opposition protests in Lok Sabha over disinvestment of PSUs, electoral bond
The opposition Congress on Thursday protested in Lok Sabha against privatisation of a few PSUs, including Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), and issuance of electoral bonds, terming the move as “big scams”. However, Congress members returned to their seats after the protests and sloganeering in the Well of the House for about 15 minutes when Speaker Om Birla assured them that they will be allowed to raise issues during Zero Hour. “This is a big scam. The country is being looted. Please allow us to speak,” Congress leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said. However, Speaker Birla told members that the MPs should not lower the dignity of the House by coming into the Well. “This is wrong. The House is discussing a very important issue on sports persons. No, no. Don’t talk to the chair from the Well. It is the responsibility of every member to maintain decorum and dignity of the House,” he said. The Speaker said the Question Hour is very important and the MPs should not disrupt proceedings. “I am a new member. You are senior. Don’t come to the Well. Maintain the convention,” Birla said, adding he has not admitted the adjournment motion moved by the Congress but is ready to allow the party to speak during Zero Hour. With this the Congress MPs went to their seats. At this, Chowdhury said the opposition keep cooperating in smooth functioning of the House and the Speaker too reciprocate with them. “You are not new. You are the chair of the House. We are forced to give the adjournment motions to raise very important issues, not to disrespect the chair. We have given the notice because this is a big scam. The country is being looted,” he said. At this, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said Prime Minister Narendra Modi is running the cleanest government and there is no scope of corruption in its functioning. “You come everyday with an adjournment motion bringing some issues. This is not done,” Joshi said. Chowdhury countered Joshi by saying the BJP, while in opposition, disrupted proceedings of the House days together by raising issues like alleged coal scam or 2G scam. Joshi said at that time the issues were raised in the House as the two cases were either before the Supreme Court or the Comptroller and Auditor General of India. However, opposition members calmed down after the Speaker’s assurance. “You (Joshi) may be tough but the Speaker is soft,” Chowdhury said. The government on Wednesday kicked off a disinvestment plan, lining up the sale of five public sector units (PSUs), including majority stakes in bluechip oil company BPCL and Shipping Corporation of India. Also on sale will be a 31 per cent stake in Container Corporation of India (Concor) along with management control. Under the electoral bonds scheme, the government had offered complete anonymity to those making donations. A donor can now anonymously buy a bond, and deposit it with the political party of his choice.
IOC, other PSUs not to bid for BPCL, hints Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan
Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Thursday hinted that public sector firms such as Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) may not be allowed to bid for buying government stake in Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL), for which a buyer may have to shell out as much as Rs 90,000 crore. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs had on Wednesday decided to sell the government’s entire stake in the country’s second-largest state refiner BPCL and India’s largest shipping company Shipping Corporation of India (SCI). It also approved privatisation of Container Corporation of India while also giving nod to paring stake below 51 per cent in select public sector undertakings but without losing control. “Since 2014, we have a clear vision that the government has no business to be in business,” Pradhan told reporters here. “We have examples of 2-3 sectors such as telecom and aviation where ushering in private participation has led to customers benefiting from price cuts, efficiency, and better service. And yesterday (on Wednesday), several reformist decisions were taken.” BPCL will give buyers ready access to 14 per cent of India’s oil refining capacity and about one-fourth of the fuel marketing infrastructure in the world’s fastest-growing energy market. It, however, will be sold after carving out Numaligarh Refinery from its portfolio and given to a pubic sector unit. “Numaligarh refinery was set up as per Assam Accord and it will remain a public sector unit. Assam Chief Minister had requested Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) to retain public sector character of Numaligarh Refinery and that has been accepted,” he said. Pradhan, however, did not say if IOC or Oil India Ltd, which already has a stake in the refinery and also supplies crude oil to it, will take over the unit. “The details have to be worked out,” he said. “Finance Minister (Nirmala Sitharaman) has stated that the privatisation of BPCL will happen this fiscal and we hope to adhere to the timeline.” Asked if public sector units will be allowed to bid for the government’s 53.29 per cent stake, he said: “Nitty gritty and details of the disinvestment process will have to be worked out but when I say the government has no business to be in business, it is indicative of possible future course of action.” At the current trading price of BPCL, the government’s 53.29 per cent stake is valued at a shade less than Rs 62,000 crore. On top of this, the acquirer will have to make an open offer to buy an additional 26 per cent stake from minority shareholders for about Rs 30,000 crore. Last year, the government had sold its entire stake in Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) to state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) for Rs 36,915 crore. Pradhan said the privatisation of BPCL was following the policy of ushering in greater competition in sectors that can sustain on their own. Greater private participation, like in the telecom and aviation sector, will bring about efficiencies and better service to consumers, he said. The CCEA had on Wednesday also approved the sale of an entire 63.75 per cent government holding in SCI and 30.8 per cent out of the government’s 54.80 per cent stake in Container Corp of India (Concor). Besides, the government will sell its entire holding in THDC India Ltd (THDCIL) and North Eastern Electric Power Corp Ltd (NEEPCO) to state-owned power generator NTPC Ltd, the finance minister has said. The government holds 74.23 per cent in THDCIL and 100 per cent NEEPCO. Parallelly, the Cabinet had also approved reducing government stake in select PSUs such as IOC to below 51 per cent while continuing to retain management control. The management control will continue to be retained with the government after considering equity held by other state-owned companies in the divested firm. The government, currently, holds 51.5 per cent in IOC and another 25.9 per cent through state-owned Life Insurance Corp of India (LIC), and explorers ONGC and Oil India Ltd (OIL), and the government can potentially sell 26.4 per cent for about Rs 33,000 crore. A similar formula can also apply to ONGC and gas utility GAIL India Ltd. The stake sales are critical for the government to meet its disinvestment target of Rs 1.05 lakh crore set for the current financial year. At current prices, the government’s 30.8 per cent stake in Concor is worth about Rs 10,800 crore, while stake sale in SCI will fetch just over Rs 2,000 crore. BPCL operates four refineries in Mumbai, Kochi (Kerala), Bina (Madhya Pradesh) and Numaligarh (Assam) with a combined capacity of 38.3 million tonnes per annum, which is 15 per cent of India’s total refining capacity of 249.4 million tonnes. After removing three million tonnes capacity of the Numaligarh refinery, the new buyer will get 35.3 million tonnes of refining capacity. It also owns 15,177 petrol pumps and 6,011 LPG distributor agencies in the country. Besides, it has 51 LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) bottling plants. The company distributes 21 per cent of petroleum products consumed in the country by volume as of March this year and has more than a fifth of the 250 aviation fuel stations in the country. The government is keen to get international energy majors such as Saudi Aramco, Total SA of France and ExxonMobil to operate in the downstream fuel marketing business so as to bring in greater competition. Currently, 95 per cent of retail petrol and diesel sales and near 100 per cent of cooking gas (LPG) and kerosene sales are controlled by the public sector units. As on March 31, BPCL reported cash and cash equivalents of around Rs 5,300 crore, against Rs 10,900 crore of debt maturing over the next 15 months.
This BPCL unit will remain a PSU despite privatisation: Here’s why Numaligarh Refinery won’t be sold
Even as the government announced strategic divestment of the entire stake in Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), Numaligarh Refinery, in which BPCL holds a majority stake, has been kept out of the plan. In fact, the finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced that the refinery in Assam will be carved out of BPCL and taken over by another PSU. It was done due to the historic Assam Accord of 1985 signed between All India Assam Students Union (AISU) and the central government of the time after the 6-year long agitation against the immigrants. On Thursday, Dharmendra Pradhan, Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, also said that Numaligarh Refinery is out of the BPCL divestment plan due to the existing accord. Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, on Wednesday, had petitioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi asking him to maintain the status of Numaligarh Refinery as PSU even if the BPCL is disinvested. Stake sale in the refinery will lead to dilution of its character after it goes into the private hands, Sarbananda Sonowal said in the letter. Numaligarh Refinery was set up in accordance with the provisions made in the Assam Accord signed on August 15, 1985. It was conceived as a vehicle for the speedy industrial and economic development of the region. Located at Morangi, Golaghat district, Assam, the refinery is the country’s largest producer of paraffin wax. It is owned by Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NIL), a joint venture between Bharat Petroleum (61.65 per cent), Oil India (26 per cent) and Assam government (12.35 per cent). On Wednesday, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved the sale of government’s entire 53.29 per cent stake along with transfer of management control in the country’s second-biggest state-owned refiner BPCL after taking out Numaligarh Refinery.
India’s hunger for natural gas being fed by costly imports amid dismal local production
India’s hunger for natural gas to feed key industries in the power and fertilizer sectors is continuing to grow unabated but that demand is increasingly being met by costly imports on the back of dismal domestic production. The country consumed 174 million standard cubic metre per day (mmscmd) of natural gas in September 2019, a 6 per cent increase over the consumption of 164 mmscmd in the same month last year. The over demand growth stood at 3 per cent in the April-September 2019 period, according to latest data shared by research firm India Ratings. However, the 6 percent growth in consumption in September fuelled a massive 18 percent jump in costly imports of Regasified-Liquefied Natural Gas (R-LNG). “Domestic natural gas production decreased 4.3 percent year-on-year. During the month, gas volume production in Oil and Natural Gas Corp and private or joint venture fields recorded a fall of 4.6 percent and 6 percent, respectively, while Oil India Ltd recorded an increase of 1.5 percent year-on-year,” the agency said in a report. Domestic natural gas contributed a mere 52 percent to the overall domestic consumption during September 2019. Additionally, the rising demand for gas is coming increasingly from the fertilizer sector rather than power plants. Consumption data for August 2019 captures that trend. In August, the fertilizer sector consumed 26.2 mmscmd of imported natural gas but only 19 mmscmd of domestically produced gas. On the other hand, power plants consumed a mere 8.7 mmscmd of imported gas but 21 percent of the domestic output. Apart from gas, the trend of rising imports feeding domestic demand is replicated in crude oil, too, with the only difference that both production and imports are going down. In September 2019, crude oil production decreased by 5.4 percent year-on-year. Production volumes of ONGC and OIL declined 2.6 per cent and 5.4 per cent, respectively, and that of fields under production-sharing contracts decreased 11.4 per cent during the month. At the same time crude oil import volume decreased 6.6 per cent and the country’s oil import dependence ballooned to a staggering 83.1 per cent in September 2019.