Figure watch

While the country’s oil production continues to slip, the country’s oil bill continues to mount. Crude oil production during October and November fell by over one per cent, and then this fell even more dramatically, by just under 7 per cent in December. The largest fall in production was recorded by ONGC, where crude output fell by a whopping 5.7 per cent in the first nine months of the current fiscal year as compared to the same period last year.

And, within ONGC’s overall basket of fields, the production at Bombay High fell by 6.6 per cent. What saved the day was the sharp surge in production by private players, who produced 3 million tonnes of oil, or an increase of over 51 per cent in the first nine months of the year. The problem, however, is that since ONGC has the best fields, production will not pick up till ONGC improves.