Soaring Energy Demand Tied to Geopolitics

INDIA'S oil and gas sector stands at a critical crossroads as soaring demand intensifies its dependence on imports, even as domestic production continues its steady decline.

- VISMAY BASU @New Delhi

According to Rubix Industry Insights' Oil & Gas, July 2025 report, India's energy appetite is poised to climb sharply—from 5.64 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2024 to 6.66 million bpd by 2030. That's a staggering one-third of the projected global demand growth over the period. But this growth is unfolding alongside shrinking domestic production, projected to fall from 700,000 bpd in 2023 to just 540,000 bpd by the end of the decade.

The upstream segment reveals troubling trends. Crude oil production dropped from 32.2 million metric tonnes (MMT) in FY2020 to 28.7 MMT in FY2025, driven largely by the ageing of India's oilfields and insufficient new discoveries.