By IANS
New Delhi : India’s crude oil production fell 3.6 percent below the envisaged target in February despite surplus output from private oilfields, an official statement Wednesday.
While the government had targeted crude oil production of 2.830 million metric tones (MMT), the actual output was just 2.728 MMT, the statement said. India imports some 70 percent of its crude needs.
The two state-owned upstream petroleum companies Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) and Oil India Ltd (OIL) reported significant shortfalls in their output targets for the month.
According to the statement, ONGC fell 6.6 percent short of the February crude production target. It produced only 2.067 MMT crude oil in the month against the target of 2.213 MMT.
The company attributed the shortfall to less than expected output from its oilfields in Assam, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and the Mumbai High, the official release said.
OIL also reported 7 percent shortfall in the targeted crude oil production of 2.213 MMT for the month.
The company said disruption in crude production from its Assam assets due to local agitation led to the shortfall.
On the other hand, oilfields owned by private companies produced 19.2 percent more crude oil in February than the target, the statement said.