Indian energy demand is taking a big hit as Covid-19 runs rampant across the country. But uncertainty around when the virus wave will subside and the lack of a unified government response has left the oil industry in the dark as to how quickly consumption might pick up again.
The demand destruction over the last couple of months has been less severe than last year, when the government imposed the world’s biggest national lockdown. However, the lack of a coordinated effort to shut down activity to halt the virus’s spread will likely lead to a longer, although less pronounced, economic slump.
“When it will return to normalcy is a very difficult question to answer,” said Shrikant Madhav Vaidya, chairman of Indian Oil Corp., the country’s biggest refiner.
