The rare combination of rising fuel demand and expanding refining capacity is drawing global commodity traders to India, with firms such as Trafigura seeking long-term partnerships with state oil companies.
As consumption growth slows in most major economies, trading firm executives told the India Energy Week conference that they see opportunities across crude, refined fuels and liquefied natural gas (LNG).
“We see massive opportunities in India,” said Sachin Gupta, chief executive of Trafigura India, pointing to strong demand for diesel, gasoline and liquefied petroleum gas and adding that India would be buying “a lot” of liquefied natural gas.
Gupta expects Indian oil demand to reach closer to 9 million barrels per day by 2050, from about 5 million barrels per day currently.
Friday, Trafigura said it signed a “landmark crude supply agreement” with Bharat Petroleum Corp to supply Iraqi Basrah and Omani crude to the Indian state refiner. BPCL also signed a term agreement with TotalEnergies for the procurement of UAE crude.