180
The Saudi share in India’s crude oil imports is slightly higher than its
share in India’s hydrocarbon imports. This is because Qatar meets India’s
demands for LPG and LNG. Between 2008–09 and 2016–17, India’s
overall crude oil imports increased from 130.04 million tonnes to 214.92
million tonnes or an increase of 60 per cent; during the same period sup-
plies from Saudi Arabia increased from 25.92 million tonnes to 39.33
tonnes, or an increase of 51 per cent (Fig. 9.5).
Towards seeking self-sufficiency in oil products, India has been expand-
ing its petrochemical industry and refining capacity. For long, India was
heavily dependent upon imports for oil products, and due to a substantial
increase in its refining capacity this dependency has been reduced consid-
erably. The shift also resulted in India emerging as a major producer and
exporter of oil products, which since 2009–10 have become its largest
export commodity (Table 9.5). The share of energy-related Indian exports
has increased from negligible 1.5 per cent in 1996–97 to 11.68 per cent
in 2016–17. At one time, it accounted for one-fifth of India’s total exports.
Table 9.4 Import dependency for crude oil (in million tonnes)
Year Consumption Imports Dependency (%)1998–99 72.53 39.81 55
1999–2000 76.94 57.81 75
2000–01 84.48 74.10 87
2001–02 87.64 78.71 89
2002–03 115.03 81.99 71
2003–04 123.81 90.43 73
2004–05 129.84 95.86 73
2005–06 131.60 99.41 75
2006–07 145.49 111.50 76
2007–08 155.79 121.67 78
2008–09 161.67 132.78 82
2009–10 186.55 159.26 85
2010–11 196.99 163.60 83
2011–12 204.12 171.73 84
2012–13 219.21 184.80 84
2013–14 222.50 189.24 85
2014–15 223.24 189.43 84
2015–16 232.86 202.85 87
2016–17 249.94 213.93 85Source: Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Government of India, http://ppac.org.in/content/ 31
Petroleum.aspx
P. R. KUMARASWAMY AND MD. M. QUAMAR