New Delhi, Aug 21 (IANS): Production of crude oil, natural gas and refinery products declined in July, 2019 against the monthly target with experts attributing it to the mix of economic slowdown and seasonal trend.

As per data released by Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas, crude oil production during July, 2019 was 2768.95 TMT (thousand metric tons) which is 5.41 per cent lower than target and 4.40 per cent lower when compared with the corresponding month last year.

"Crude production continues to fall mainly because new assets have not come in the recent past and the existing assets are depleting," said Deepak Mahurkar, partner and leader (India oil and gas industry practice) at PwC.

The negative trend was also seen in the case of natural gas which saw 5.62 per cent decline in July this year. At 2717.92 MMSCM, the production was however 0.16% higher compared to July, 2018.

Refinery production during July, 2019 was 21,777.03 TMT which is 4.14 per cent Alower than the target for the month and 2.82 per cent lower when compared with July last year.

"There has not been many great events in July. A lot of modernization is also happening in refineries for BS-VI fuel leading to shut-down of refineries. This could also be one of the reasons of low production," said an executive of a research firm wishing not to be quoted.

Automobile sector which is one of the largest consumer of fuels has been in the grip of a slowdown and could be a reason for low production and consumption of refinery products.