India's oil demand set to rise generally, with lubes also on the increase.
According to new figures, India is set to overtake China to become the second largest oil consuming nation in the world behind the US.
Good news for Indian lubes retailers Image: Indian Oil Store |
With vehicle fuels and demand for LPG growing signficantly, with diesel consumption expected to grow by around six percent to 1.1 million bpd helped by growth in the commercial vehicle sector. This is despite reports in mid-2018 of a signficant decline in diesel car sales across the nation.
At the end of the 2017/18 fiscal year, India ranked third in world oil consumption at 206.2m tonnes (more than four million barrels per day) behind China and the US. However, the latest report predicts that tax changes in the logistics sector will also help to boost demand.
According to the statistics, it would appear that despite concerns regarding emissions and polution, the Indian EV market has failed to take-off, with sales of new four-wheel electric vehicles numbering little more than a thousand in 2018, although two-wheeler sales are signficantly higher.
At the same time, the Indian vehicle lubricants market is also benefitting from the buoyant market, with a number of analysts reporting market growth of finished lubes at around two to two and a half percent in 2018. Gulf Oil suggested growth was as much as three percent, equating to 2.5m tons of product.