The domestic natural gas production has declined by 9.1 per cent year on year (yoy) to 2,333 million standard cubic metres (mmscm) in November 2020. Additionally, the production of crude oil to the tune of 2.5 million tonnes (mt) during November 2020 was also 4.5 per cent lower than the production in November 2019. The indigenous production of natural gas meets about 51 per cent of the country’s requirements.
During April-October 2020, the domestic natural gas production fell by 12.2 per cent yoy to 16,373 mmscm. This can be attributed to the operations becoming increasingly unviable for energy production companies due to lowering of selling prices by the government. According to the Care Ratings, the gross production of domestic natural gas is estimated to fall by 10.6 per cent during the current fiscal year. The current price for gas produced from local fields has been revised to an all-time low of $1.79 per million British thermal units by the government.
The demand for natural gas in India is dependent on the fertiliser, power, city gas distribution entities, refineries and petrochemicals industries. However, due to the coronavirus-induced lockdowns, the city gas consumption has been less than refineries in 2020-21.