Image for representational purpose only. , Photo credit: The Hindu
India’s fuel demand is likely to grow by 4.7% in the next fiscal year starting April 1, preliminary government estimates have shown.
Fuel consumption, a proxy for oil demand, may rise to 233.8 million tonnes in 2023-24 from a revised estimate of 222.9 million tonnes for the current fiscal year ending March, according to government forecasts. The estimates were released on the website of the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC), a unit of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.
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India is the third largest oil importer and consumer in the world. Domestic demand for petrol, mainly used in passenger vehicles, is expected to rise 7.1% to 37.8 million tonnes, while diesel consumption is expected to grow by about 4.2% to 90.6 million tonnes, the data showed.
Indian state refiner’s petrol and diesel sales rose in the first two weeks of February compared with the same period last month, preliminary data showed, as cargo transportation and mobility picked up.
Aviation fuel consumption is likely to increase by 14% to 8.6 million tonnes for the year ending March 2023 as against the revised estimate of 7.4 million tonnes.
PPAC said demand for pet coke, a better-burning alternative to coal, is likely to grow by 5.8% to 19 million tonnes, while demand for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), used as a cooking fuel, is expected to rise by 1.7% to 29.1 million tonnes. is estimated. ,