India's oil consumption up 7.78% in August

India’s oil consumption during the month of August increased by 7.78% compared to the same month a year ago, according to the latest data provided by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.
The increase was attributed to low rainfall during the monsoon season and the power crisis, which drove up demand for diesel fuel. Consumption of petroleum products reached 12.037 million tons (MT) against 11.168 MT in the year-ago period.
Diesel fuel consumption, which accounts for more than 40% of total fuel sales, increased by 10.4% to 5.054 MT in August, driven by demand from the power sector due to failure of the northern grid causing power outages in almost half of the country on two occasions. This led to higher use of diesel generators.
Data also showed that petrol consumption increased by 7.5% to 1.313 MT, while liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) rose by about 5% to 1.337 MT. Kerosene sales, on the other hand, registered a marginal drop, from 671,000 tons in August 2011 to 624,000 tons this year. (September 22, 2012)