India's demand for crude oil is expected to increase by 4.1 per cent to 5.5 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2024, the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) forecast in its December monthly report.
"India's oil demand is expected to remain positive this year despite concerns about a slowdown in industrial production in China, which will impact adjacent economies, as well as a decline in global oil production," experts have suggested.
Earlier, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) predicted that India's liquid fuels consumption, which includes crude oil and refined products, would grow by nearly 0.3 million bpd in 2024.
"We forecast that India's liquid fuels demand growth will increase to 331 thousand barrels per day in 2024 from 268 thousand barrels per day in 2023,” stated the OPEC report.
It reasoned that India’s growing consumption would be “supported by favorable base effects and only a slight slowdown in gross domestic product (GDP) growth.
Experts also forecast that total oil demand from South Asia will increase by 3.2% in 2024.
“India's domestic crude oil consumption will grow by 4-5 percent, driven by economic growth, increased mobility and air travel,” affirmed Prashant Vashisht, vice-president of Indian ratings agency ICRA.
Vashisht also predicted that demand for liquefied natural gas (LNG) in India would also increase this year.
“Indian domestic gas production is expected to increase to 100 million metric standard cubic meters per day in Financial Year (FY) 2024 and to 107 million cubic meters per day in FY 2025,” he said.
He predicted that China's demand for crude oil would grow by 3.6 per cent this year compared with last year.
Since last year, Russia has become the biggest supplier of crude to both China and India, as Moscow diverts its energy supplies to the Asian economies in the wake of restrictions imposed by G7 due to Ukraine crisis.