Indian oil demand holds up

India’s oil products demand eased somewhat in January and February, but the country’s economic slowdown didn’t slow consumption to the extent achieved by last year’s US$147 per barrel oil prices. Total refined product sales, a proxy for domestic consumption, were tallied at 11.29 million metric tons (mt) in February and 11.5 million mt in January, a continuing slide from December 2008’s 11.63 million mt. However, the figures for the first two months of this year are 2.5 to 2.6% higher year on year. Meanwhile, consumption of the seven major refined products: LPG, gasoline, naphtha, jet fuel, kerosene, gasoil and fuel oil or low sulfur heavy stock, totaled close to 9.69 million mt in February, down from 10.07 million mt in January and 11.63 million tons in December 2008, oil ministry data showed. Sales of gasoil, which represent roughly 38% of the total product sales in India, eased to 4.31 million tons in February from 4.39 million tons in January and 4.45 million tons in December. Sales of naphtha, which is used as feedstock in fertilizer and petrochemicals production as well as fuel for power plants, remained relatively healthy. Some 1.21 million mt of naphtha was sold in February and 1.41 million mt in January, compared with 1.36 million mt in December and a Q4 average of 1.16 million mt. (April 6/8, 2009)