India will be hooked on oil for years to come, says OPEC

Indian motorists will struggle to move away from gasoline- and diesel-powered cars over the next quarter of a century, suggesting the nation’s push towards electric vehicles may not be a complete success, OPEC said.

Diesel and gasoline (petrol) will make up 58% of India’s oil demand in the next 25 years, from 51% now, according to the latest long-term report from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. The addition of 200 million passenger and commercial vehicles mean the two fuels will continue to dominate oil consumption in the world’s third-biggest oil consuming nation, it said.

India’s oil demand, which was battered by the coronavirus, is expected to reach its pre-pandemic level of 4.9 million barrels a day in 2021 before more than doubling to 11 million barrels by 2045. OPEC meets almost 71% of India’s crude oil requirements.

The projections from OPEC are at odds with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s aim to make India energy independent in the coming decades through increased carbon efficiency and gas-based fuel usage and electricity-driven mobility.

Continued addiction to petroleum would mean greater dependence on imports for a country that already buys 85% of its oil from overseas.