OPEC and India: a partnership standing the test of time

OPEC and India have enjoyed close relations for decades, bolstered by many OPEC Member Countries’ strong historical ties and proximity to India. This symbiotic relationship, grounded in mutual respect and reliability, has stood the test of time.

In recent years, our ties have been strengthened by a decade of high-level and technical dialogues, with the first High-level Meeting of the OPEC-India Energy Dialogue taking place in New Delhi in December 2015.

Since then, reflecting the spirit of global cooperation, 13 technical and high-level meetings, joint research activities and mutual participation in various events, such as the OPEC International Seminar, have bolstered ties further.

Just as this relationship continues to grow strongly, so too does global demand for energy. In 2025, demand for oil, gas, coal and renewables broke records. We see these records being broken again in 2026.

Against this backdrop, OPEC expects global energy demand to expand by 23% out to 2050, with India being the single largest contributor to global energy demand growth in this period. According to OPEC’s World Oil Outlook (WOO) 2025, average annual growth of 2.7% will see India’s energy demand almost doubling between 2024 and 2050.

Amid rising demand for all energies in India, the largest increment is expected for oil. OPEC expects demand to rise from around 5.6 million barrels a day (mb/d) in 2024 to 13.7 mb/d in 2050. This is set to be driven by higher demand from the transportation and industrial sectors, including for petrochemicals, as well as by India’s residential and commercial sectors.

Moreover, we expect India’s robust oil demand growth to be supported by strong demographic and economic fundamentals.

An expected population increase of around 230 million – including an additional 144 million people of working age – alongside urbanization levels rising from around 37% in 2024 to nearly 53% by 2050, will contribute to India remaining the world’s fastest-growing major economy.

OPEC expects India to more than double its share of the global economy, increasing from 8% in 2024 to 17% in 2050. This corresponds to an absolute increase of $46 trillion.

To sustain this growth and safeguard its future energy security, India, like many OPEC Member Countries, is adopting an all-energies and all-technologies approach. As the Prime Minister of India, His Excellency, Narendra Modi, sagely noted to the G7 last year: “ensuring affordable, reliable and sustainable energy is a top priority for India.”

Towards this end, alongside reliable energy imports, India is accelerating its hydrocarbon development while aiming to achieve 500 gigawatts of non-hydrocarbon capacity by 2030. These actions are in keeping with a message that OPEC has long advocated: the world needs all technologies to achieve the emissions reductions it requires, and all energies to deliver the energy security and energy availability it desires.

With roughly a quarter of the world’s population, 2.1 billion people, still lacking access to clean cooking solutions, mitigating energy poverty remains vital. In this regard, expanding access to liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) will be key in meeting the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 7, part of which aims to achieve universal access to clean cooking by 2030.

The World Health Organization defines clean cooking fuels as those that meet recommended limits for fine particulate matter and carbon monoxide. LPG meets this standard and is recognised as a clean cooking fuel. As such, by continuing to expand its LPG use, India – the second-largest LPG consumer in the world – is well on track to provide affordable, sustainable and modern energy for its people.

Today, OPEC Member Countries provide approximately 45% of India’s total crude oil imports. As India looks to foster energy security and affordability in the years to come, the reliable partnership developed between OPEC and India over decades will doubtless continue to stand the test of time moving forward.