India’s consumption of refined petroleum fuels and products is projected to hit a new record in financial year 2023-24, thanks to strong post-pandemic recovery in energy use in various sectors of the economy. As per projections by the Petroleum Planning & Analysis Cell (PPAC) of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, consumption of petroleum products — considered a proxy for oil demand — is likely to rise 4.9 per cent year on year to 233.81 million tonnes. This compares to 222.95 million tonnes —the revised estimate for the current fiscal.
An analysis of historical data shows that the previous record for consumption of petroleum products was 214.13 million tonnes in 2019-20.
