In the Eighties, consumption of oil was the highest in Europe followed by North America. European oil demand, more or less, remained stagnant over the last 15 years, whereas Asian-Pacific countries picked up consumption in the Nineties. Notably, the current demand drivers are India and China. There are multiple competing arguments supporting oil consumption growth in the Asia-Pacific region. The most significant reason behind demand growth is linked to the development cycle of emerging economies in the Asia-Pacific region, especially India and China. Like China, India is undergoing a transition from ‘developing’ to ‘developed’ stage, resulting in an exponential increase in the demand for energy. India’s crude oil import increased from 99 million metric tonnes (MT) in 2005-06 to 214 MT in 2016-17, registering a compound annual growth rate of 7.2 per cent. In 2016, India registered a GDP growth rate
India’s Insatiable thirst for oil