Globally as well, the demand for LPG is rising due to cooking in regions such as India and Africa as well as in the petrochemicals sector
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Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) consumption in the world’s second largest consumer is projected to double in the next 25 years to 2 million barrels per day (mb/d).According to OPEC’s world oil outlook 2026, the demand growth in LPG will come from the residential sector, which accounts for almost 90 per cent of the annual requirement. Besides, an expanding petrochemicals segment is also pushing up usage. The outlook period is from 2026 to 2050.“India’s petrochemical sector also contributes to ethane/ LPG demand growth. Additionally, LPG use is widespread in India’s residential sector and the country is projected to see higher demand for this product going forward. Overall, ethane/LPG demand is projected to double between 2025 and 2050 to reach nearly 2 mb/d,” OPEC said.More than 33.50 crore households depend on LPG for cooking, which also includes roughly 10.55 crore PM Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) beneficiaries.India has significant residential oil demand, largely reflecting LPG use in the household sector, which is mostly for cooking. Rising energy access in India will support LPG use in the long term, it anticipated.Globally as well, the demand for LPG is rising due to cooking in regions such as India and Africa as well as in the petrochemicals sector.“In the light products sector, the largest increase is expected for ethane/ LPG, with demand increasing by 3.5 mb/d. This is also supported by rising ethane supply in some regions, such as OECD Americas and the Middle East, where this product represents the main feedstock for ethylene production,” the report projected. LPG is also used in the petrochemical sector and in the industrial and residential sectors. LPG is an important fuel for providing access to clean cooking, thus reducing the traditional use of biomass in Asia, Africa and Latin America.A back of the envelope calculation shows that the country’s average LPG usage stood at roughly 90,991 TPD in FY26, 85,830 TPD in FY25 and 81,271 TPD in FY24. Almost 90 per cent is consumed by households for cooking and the remaining going to the industrial sector.The Petroleum Planning & Analysis Cell (PPAC) expects India to consume around 34.69 million tonnes (mt) of LPG in the current financial year, ending March 2027. This is a growth of roughly 4.5 per cent on an annual basis.India’s cumulative LPG consumption rose 6 per cent y-o-y to 33.21 mt in FY26 provisionally, which is the highest annual growth in usage since FY19.Long term growthOverall, OPEC projects that the primary sources of long-term oil demand growth are India, Other Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America.Demand in these regions is set to increase by 25.2 mb/d between 2025 and 2050, with India alone adding 8.1 mb/d. At the same time, oil demand in Other Asia, the Middle East and Africa is set to increase by 5.3 mb/d, 4.7 mb/d and 4.3 mb/d, respectively.Oil demand in Latin America is projected to increase by 2.8 mb/d and China by 1.1 mb/d over the same period, it added.From a sectoral perspective, OPEC anticipates that oil demand growth out to 2050 is set to be driven by road transportation, aviation and petrochemicals, with increases of 5.7 mb/d, 4.2 mb/d and 4.6 mb/d, respectively.A modest demand increase is also expected in other sectors, such as ‘other transportation’, ‘other industry’ and residential/commercial/agricultural. The only sector where demand for oil is expected to see a minor decline over the long term is electricity generation, it added.Published on June 20, 2026
