India soon to overtake China as largest oil demand driver, says IEA chief

Fatih Birol said that, since India has abundant renewable energy capacity, the country should not miss the opportunity to become a superpower in the green hydrogen business.

Technicians work at an oil rig at an Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) plant, in Dhamasna village in the western state of Gujarat | Reuters

New Delhi: India will soon overtake China as the largest driver of global oil demand, International Energy Agency (IEA) chief Fatih Birol said on Wednesday.

“One of the reasons why we say this is that electrification of cars and buses in China is growing rapidly,” Birol told reporters on the sidelines of a G20 event in New Delhi.

“I very much hope India will move closer in terms of electrification.”

The Paris-based energy agency said in its outlook report released on Wednesday that about three quarters of the 2022-28 demand growth increase will come from Asia, with India surpassing China as the main source of growth by 2027.

Birol also said that, since India has abundant renewable energy capacity, the country should not miss the opportunity to become a superpower in the green hydrogen business.

(Reporting by Mohi Narayan in New Delhi, Editing by Varun H K and David Goodman)

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