Maintaining Indian momentum
Energy demand is expected to pick up in the year ahead after faltering in 2017. EV sales will rise
India's stellar oil-demand story stumbled in 2017. Following record-high demand growth in 2015 (303,000 barrels a day) and 2016 (380,000 b/d), 2017 was much more variable, falling by 88,000 b/d in the first quarter, recovering to 153,000 b/d in the second, and witnessing the largest year-on-year drop since 2006 in August, before recovering in September (numbers from Energy Aspects). Barring widespread flooding in August, these included policy-induced shocks: the demonetisation of 86% of currency in late 2016 and introduction of a new Goods and Services Tax (GST) in mid-2017 hit business activity and consumption. Consequently, GDP-growth forecasts for 2017 and 2018 have been pared down by the
Also in this section
5 December 2025
Mistaken assumptions around an oil bull run that never happened are a warning over the talk of a supply glut
4 December 2025
Time is running out for Lukoil and Rosneft to divest international assets that will be mostly rendered useless to them when the US sanctions deadline arrives in mid-December
3 December 2025
Aramco’s pursuit of $30b in US gas partnerships marks a strategic pivot. The US gains capital and certainty; Saudi Arabia gains access, flexibility and a new export future
2 December 2025
The interplay between OPEC+, China and the US will define oil markets throughout 2026
