India's oil import bill may halve if current crude price holds

New Delhi, March 9 At least in the oil sector, the global health emergency posed by the spread of the novel Coronavirus and Saudi Arabia declaring a price war, is coming to India's advantage.

India oil import bill is expected to fall by a sharper 10 per cent in FY20 as the increasing spread of Coronavirus and now the fallout of talks between OPEC and Russia has depressed the crude oil prices to about $30 a barrel now against a high of over $70 a barrel in September and again in January this year.

For FY21, the import bill could slip to half of current levels at $64 billion witnessed in FY16 when crude had fallen to $26 a barrel for some time.

According to oil ministry's Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell

( With inputs from IANS )