India, the world’s third-largest crude oil importer, expects to raise its refining capacity by around 1.12 million barrels per day (bpd) each year until 2028, according to India’s junior oil minister Rameswar Teli.
Total Indian refining capacity is expected to increase by 22% in five years from the current 254 million metric tons per year, which are equal to around 5.8 million bpd, Teli told lawmakers in a written statement carried by Reuters.
Crude processing capacity is set to grow by 56 million tons a year, or around 1.12 million bpd, Teli wrote.
The government expects the boost to refining capacity to be “adequate” to meet the country’s fuel demand in the long term, according to Teli.
India has been planning an increase in its refining capacity for years, as it is expected to topple China as the fastest-growing crude demand market in the future.
Two years ago, India’s state-held oil refiners were planning to spend as much as US$27 billion (2 trillion Indian rupees) on raising the country’s refining capacity by 20% by 2025.
India will be the fastest-growing major developing economy, averaging long-term growth of 6.1% between 2022 and 2045, and accounting for over 28% of incremental global energy demand during the same period, OPEC said in its World Oil Outlook 2023 earlier this year.
By 2028, global oil demand is set to reach 110.2 million bpd, up by 10.6 million bpd compared to 2022, with non-OECD oil demand expected to increase by 10.1 million bpd, reaching 63.7 million bpd by 2028.
India will be the driver of growth through 2045, expected to add 6.6 million bpd to oil demand over the forecast period, OPEC said. Other Asia’s oil demand is set to increase by 4.6 million bpd, China’s by 4 million bpd, Africa’s by 3.8 million bpd, and the Middle East’s by 3.6 million bpd.
