China’s Oil Demand to Peak Within 5 Years as India’s Continues to Climb
China’s decades-long reign as the world’s top oil demand driver is nearing its end, according to new research published by Moody’s Investors Service demonstrating that China’s crude demand is expected to peak within the next 3–5 years, while India will continue to hold the lead in global oil demand growth through at least 2030. Moody’s attributes China’s demand plateau to slowing economic growth, a shrinking population, a plateau in vehicle ownership, and a rapid shift toward EVs and energy diversification. In contrast, India is poised for 3–5% annual oil demand growth this decade, underpinned by rising per capita consumption, population growth, and rapid infrastructure expansion. “India will remain the primary source of incremental global oil demand through 2030,” Moody’s analysts noted, adding that the country’s oil import dependence will increase as domestic production remains subdued. According to India’s Ministry of Petroleum, crude consumption is already tracking 4.3% higher year-over-year in Q1 2025. The International Energy Agency (IEA) projects India’s oil demand will rise from 5 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2023 to over 6.5 million bpd by 2030. Meanwhile, signs of a peak in Chinese demand have been mounting. Earlier this year, OilPrice.com reported that Chinese refiners were already scaling back crude imports—down nearly 600,000 bpd from last year—amid weak industrial activity and record EV adoption. This eastward demand shift has major implications for long-term pricing, global refining strategy, and upstream investment. For exporters such as Saudi Arabia and Russia, India is now the market to watch. For oil markets, the era of “China-as-demand-engine” is rapidly fading, with India more than ready to hold tight to its status as lead driver of oil demand growth.
Asian Buyers Increase Purchases of Murban Oil
A substantial drop in the spot market price for Emirati crude has triggered a demand surge from Asia, Reuters reported today, citing data for a record trade of 10 million barrels of Murban crude on an S&P Global Platts market-of-close basis this month. “Asian markets have been oversupplied with light grades for most of this cycle, driven by outages at Japanese refiners, increased UAE availability this cycle following the accelerated OPEC+ unwind, and planned maintenance at Saudi Arabia’s Petro Rabigh refinery,” Energy Aspects analyst Richard Jones told Reuters. Yet demand for Murban has done well as its premium on the spot market has dropped to the lowest in six months. The grade represents some 66% of Adnoc’s total oil production and has a lead role in price setting in the Middle East. According to Reuters, Murban affects the pricing of 14 million barrels of oil exports to Asia daily. The Emirati oil major expects production of the grade to top 1.7 million barrels daily in June, July and August, which means more downward pressure on its price and likely drive stronger demand from Asian buyers. One unnamed Reuters source said output of the key grade could top 2 million barrels daily in July. Earlier this month, Bloomberg reported that a couple of Chinese independent refiners had bought two Murban cargos in a sign of a shift from Iranian crude to alternatives amid the U.S. sanction squeeze on one of China’s top discount oil suppliers. The price of the Emirati crude was $5 above the ICE Brent contract for August, the report noted. In March and April, the U.S. sanctioned two small independent Chinese refiners for purchasing and transporting Iranian oil, as part of U.S. President Donald Trump’s “maximum pressure” campaign on Iran to force it to negotiations over its nuclear program.
India poised to end China’s dominance era in oil demand: Moody’s
After more than a decade of dominance by China, the global oil and gas spotlight is shifting, and it’s India that’s now centre stage. According to a latest Moody’s report, India is poised to overtake China as the biggest driver of global oil and gas demand growth over the next decade. The shift marks a dramatic rebalancing, powered by India’s accelerating industrialisation, massive infrastructure push, and a growing middle class with increasing mobility needs. But, on the other side of the story is a slowing Chinese economy and a rapid rise in electric vehicle adoption, both of which are cooling the country’s once-insatiable thirst for fuel. “Demand will grow faster in India than in China over the next decade, as China’s economic growth slows and penetration of new energy vehicles accelerates. Crude consumption in China will peak in the next 3-5 years, while in India we expect annual growth of 3%-5% in the same period,” the Moody’s report read. India’s economic engine shows no signs of slowing. Real GDP growth is projected at 6.3% in 2025 and 6.5% in 2026, putting the country firmly at the top of the G-20 growth charts, highlighted Moody’s report. This robust expansion, combined with rising demand for transportation fuel and stepped-up investments by state-run oil marketing companies in refining capacity, is expected to keep oil demand climbing sharply. It’s not just oil. Gas, too, is becoming a bigger piece of India’s energy puzzle. The government plans to increase natural gas’s share in the energy mix from around 6% today to 15% by 2030. Demand is being driven by fast-growing sectors like fertilisers, petrochemicals, and city gas networks. Annual growth is projected between 4% and 7% through the end of the decade. Yet challenges such as affordability and patchy infrastructure remain barriers to faster adoption.
Blue Energy Motors Crosses 50 Million Km With LNG Trucks, Cuts 14,000 Tonnes Of CO2 Emissions
Blue Energy Motors, a pioneer in green-energy heavy-duty trucks, has surpassed 50 million km on the Indian highways saving 14,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions since the deployment of its Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG)-powered green trucks. This achievement is equivalent to the annual carbon absorption of over 5,60,000 trees. The transport sector, particularly commercial vehicles, accounts for a disproportionate share of carbon emissions. According to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, commercial vehicles contribute nearly 40 per cent of CO2 emissions in road transport while comprising only 4 per cent of the total vehicle fleet. These figures highlight the urgent need for sustainable alternatives like LNG and EV, which have emerged as game-changers in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Commenting on the achievement, Anirudh Bhuwalka, CEO of Blue Energy Motors, said “At Blue Energy Motors, we are not only redefining freight mobility with alternate fuel solutions but also building a comprehensive ecosystem of sustainable commercial vehicles for the future. We remain steadfast in our vision of a cleaner, greener tomorrow leading the shift toward sustainable mobility in India and beyond.” LNG-powered trucks offer a cleaner and more sustainable alternative to diesel vehicles, cutting CO2 emissions by up to 30 per cent while significantly reducing particulate matter and nitrogen oxides. When deployed in suitable long-haul applications, these benefits amplify, making LNG technology a cornerstone of India’s green logistics transition. Blue Energy Motors’ trucks are already facilitating a shift toward cleaner logistics, helping fleet owners reduce emissions and operational costs.
Japan Invests Big In LNG Despite Climate-Friendly Promises
Japan is one of the world’s biggest public financiers of gas and oil production, despite a pledge to halt all such funding for fossil fuel at the G7 summit in 2022. From 2013 to 2024, Japanese public financial institutions provided $93 billion (€82 billion) worth of investments for oil and gas projects, according to a report from the South Korea-based Solutions for Our Climate (SFOC). Overseas liquefied natural gas (LNG) development projects amounted to $56 billion worth of this financing. In the same period, the report estimates $24.5 billion in funding was provided for clean energy projects. “Japan’s international influence in energy financing, and specifically fossil fuel financing, is enormous,” Walter James, a private consultant focusing on Japan’s climate and energy policies, told DW “It’s really across the fossil fuel supply chain … all the way from exploration, production, transportation to actual use and power plants.” In what the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA), a US-based research center, calls the “Japanese model” of LNG investment, decades of policy development by Japan to “encourage direct overseas investment in LNG export projects,” have turned Japan into the main driver of LNG development in the Asia Pacific.
THINK Gas Expands LNG Footprint with strategic launch of 6 New Dispensing Stations accelerating India’s green transition
THINK Gas, India’s leading City Gas Distribution (CGD) company, is accelerating country’s transition towards low-emission transport for long-haul heavy-duty truck mobility with the strategic rollout of 3 (three) new LNG filling hubs/points after the successful operation of its flagship LNG station at Bagroda, Bhopal. As a merged CGD entity of AG&P Pratham and THINK Gas, now operating under the THINK Gas brand, the 3 new LNG fuelling hubs/points, strategically located to serve long-haul mobility, will be in Anantapur, Nellore (in Andhra Pradesh), and Vallam (in Tamil Nadu’s Kanchipuram District), and are expected to be operational by September’ 2025. In addition, 3 more LNG fuelling hubs/points will become operational by December 2025, reinforcing the company’s focus on long-haul clean mobility infrastructure.” THINK Gas is integrating the new LNG hubs with its well-established LCNG Stations (Liquefied to Compressed Natural Gas), allowing for seamless distribution, enhanced infrastructure utilisation, and efficient service delivery to fleet operators and logistics providers.