India imported 4.3% less crude oil in April this year, yet the bill still doubled as prices soar

The volume of India’s imports of crude oil fell 4.3% in April 2026, the second month after the start of the conflict in West Asia, while the value soared about 50% over the comparable period last year, according to provisional government data, an indication of the price pressure on crude oil and natural gas due to the continuing closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

Notably, the latest data from the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC), the volume of imports of liquified natural gas (LNG) declined nearly 30% in April 2026, even though domestic net production of natural gas fell 4.2% during the month. This was, however, due to lower consumption.

Overall, the net import bill for oil and gas, which is inclusive of certain deductions from India’s export of petroleum products, grew about 23% to $13.9 billion in April.

Imports of crude oil down, bill soars

The PPAC data shows that India imported 20.1 MMT of crude oil in April this year, as compared to 21 MMT in the comparable period last year.

However, India’s oil-marketing companies paid $16.3 billion for their imports in April this year as compared to $10.7 billion they had paid in the same month last year.

The warning signs in India’s import bill

Natural gas, LPG consumption decline from last year

Further, sales of liquified petroleum gas (LPG) by PSUs, including domestic, auto LPG and non-domestic LPG, also dipped 12.7% on a year-on-year basis to about 2.2 million metric tonnes (MMT). During the conflict, the government has allocated commercial establishment 70% of the LPG they were using before the crisis.

As for natural gas, the country consumed 4,703 MMSCM of natural gas in April this year, which was 16.7% lower than corresponding period last year.

LNG imports, net production also slows

Likely as a result of this lower consumption, India imported 1,954 million standard cubic metres (MMSCM) of LNG in April this year down from 2,778 MMSCM in the same month of last year. In value terms, the LNG import bill fell one-fourth from $1.2 billion to $0.9 billion during the reported period.

India’s import dependency on natural gas declined to 41.6% in April this year from 49.2% in same month last year.

The net production of natural gas, which accounts for the quantum lost due to flaring and for other reasons, dipped 4.2% on a year-on-year basis to 2,749 MMSCM.