Fuel consumption forecast cut by 1% to 155.63 MT for FY'13

Oil Ministry's Petroleum Planning & Analysis Cell (PPAC) in a mid-term review trimmed forecast for fuel consumption to 155.63 million tonnes in 2012-13 from previously projected 157.07 million tonnes.

It projected a 5.2 per cent rise in fuel demand in the current fiscal over 148.13 million tons of petroleum product consumed in the previous year.

Fuel consumption in 2011-12 had grown by about 5 per cent and PPAC had at the beginning of the fisal projected a growth rate of 6 per cent in 2012-13.

Finance Minister P Chidambaram had earlier this week stated that the economy will grow by 5.7 per cent in current fiscal, down from 6.5 per cent in the previous.

The fuel demand revision, according to PPAC, is mostly on account of almost halving of growth in consumption of cooking gas (LPG) to 5.6 per cent. This was being seen as an immediate fallout of the government decision to cap supply of subsidised LPG.

PPAC said 2012-13 will end with a 16.22 million tonnes of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) consumption.

Demand for diesel, which accounts for 45 per cent of the fuel consumption in the country, is projected to rise by 8.3 per cent to 70.1 million tonnes. PPAC had previously projected a growth of 5.9 per cent.

PPAC projected a 5.5 per cent growth in petrol demand at 15.82 million tonnes, while kerosene is expected to see

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