New Delhi: India's crude oil production dipped 1% in April, as lower output from private-sector resources offset improvements by state-owned companies like ONGC, according to official statistics released Tuesday.

According to figures issued by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, India produced 2.47 million tonnes of crude oil in April, down from 2.5 million tonnes in the same month previous year. In April, the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) produced 1.65 million tonnes of crude oil, about 5% higher than its objective and 0.86 percent more than the previous year's 1.63 million tonnes.

Oil India Ltd (OIL) produced 3.6 percent more crude (251,460 tonnes), whereas private-sector fields produced 7.5 percent less petroleum (567,570 tonnes). To reduce dependency on imports, the government has concentrated on increasing domestic oil and gas output. India imports over half of its natural gas and 85 percent of its oil. Natural gas output increased by 6.6% to 2.82 billion cubic metres, owing to increased output from the eastern offshore.

Govt authorises duty-free import of 20 lakh MT of crude soyabean, sunflower oil for 2 fiscals

Oil imports surge widens trade deficit in April

Crude Oil prices continue to fall due to Chinese restrictions