Slower growth in fuel demand

India’s fuel consumption grew at a slower rate of 5 per cent in the last fiscal that was attributed to diesel.

The world’s third largest oil consumer saw its demand for fuel and petroleum products rise to 194.2 million tonnes (mt) in 2016-17 up from 184.6mt in the previous fiscal, according to data from the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) of the oil ministry.

The demand growth was slower than the 11.5 per cent recorded in 2015-16 when consumption had jumped to 184.67mt from 165.5mt in the previous year.

Demand for diesel, the most consumed fuel in the country, grew 1.8 per cent to 74.6mt in 2016-17. Diesel consumption had soared 7.5 per cent in 2015-16.

LPG sales last fiscal went up 9.8 per cent to 19.6mt as government released 2 crore connections for the poor.

Petrol consumption was up 8.8 per cent to 21.84mt on the back of a rise in two-wheeler and car sales.

Jet fuel sales were up 12 per cent at 6.2mt. Kerosene demand however declined by a steep 21 per cent to 6.8mt as the government restricted the supply of subsidised cooking fuel only to the identified needy. Also, LPG replaced kerosene as a cooking fuel in many households.

GAIL ships

State gas utility GAIL India Ltd will hire ships on a short- term basis to ferry gas from the US after it was forced to scrap a $7 billion tender to make vessels in India, oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan said today.

After dragging for more than two years, GAIL had in October last year scrapped a tender to hire newly built ships to ferry liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the US after the bidders did not agree to the “Make-in-India” terms.

https://www.telegraphindia.com/1170411/jsp/business/story_145723.jsp#.WOyVGdJ97IU