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S&P says India will import lesser crude oil this year than expected
Standard & Poor’s expects India to import less crude oil than expected because of flat demand in April.
Latest government data shows that oil products demand fell 360,000 barrels per day (b/d) on the month in April 2023. According to data released by the oil ministry’s petroleum planning and analysis cell, year-on-year crude oil demand was up by only 11,000 b/d, or 0.2%, marking it the weakest growth since the contraction in January 2022.
The April slump was due mainly to the weakness of LPG, gasoline, and other minor products such as pet coke and asphalt. Demand for gasoil was robust with growth at 156,000 b/d, while growth for naphtha, gasoline, kerosene/jet fuel and fuel oil were more modest, but these increases were largely offset by a decline of 227,000 b/d for minor products.
According to JY Lim, Oil Analyst at S&P Global Commodity Insights, India’s gasoline demand rebounded above pre-COVID-19 levels in 2021 and was expected to be some 17.6% higher in 2023. Gasoil demand was expected to be close to 8% above pre-COVID-19 levels this year, but kerosene/jet fuel demand will remain about 19% lower than 2019 levels.
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