According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), India is poised to become the primary driver of global oil demand growth from 2023 to 2030, narrowly surpassing China, its top importer. The IEA projects that India, the world’s third-largest oil importer and consumer, will experience a substantial increase in oil demand, rising by nearly 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) during the aforementioned period.
This surge in demand is expected to constitute over one-third of the anticipated 3.2 million bpd global increase within the same timeframe. By 2030, India’s oil demand is forecasted to reach 6.6 million bpd, marking a significant rise from 5.5 million bpd in 2023.
Diesel fuel is set to be the primary driver of India’s oil consumption, contributing to nearly half of the nation’s demand growth and more than one-sixth of the total global oil demand increase by 2030. The IEA also predicts that India will add 1 million bpd of new refining capacity over the next seven years, leading to a further increase in crude imports to 5.8 million bpd by 2030. As reported by ZEEBUSINESS, the IEA report indicates that India’s oil inventories currently stand at 243 million barrels, with 26 million barrels allocated to strategic petroleum reserves and the remainder distributed among industry stocks.
