Projections from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries point to a 2.4 million barrels per day expansion in worldwide oil consumption by 2027, with India alongside other Asian economies identified as the primary forces behind that increase. Addressing the International Monetary and Financial Committee at the IMF-World Bank Annual Meetings, OPEC put worldwide oil consumption at an average of 108.2 million barrels per day by 2027, up from a projected 105.8 million barrels per day the preceding year.

Robust activity across non-OECD economies — with transportation fuels and petrochemical feedstocks positioned as the primary drivers — was cited as the foundation underpinning the projected increase in consumption, while the statement identified India and other Asian markets as the foremost contributors to that growth, alongside additional momentum from China and the Middle East.

Heading into 2026, OPEC's projections put worldwide petroleum consumption on a path of roughly 0.4 million barrels per day net addition, a trajectory underpinned by heightened fuel requirements across Latin America and non-OECD Asia — regions where expanding economic output, rising passenger movement, growing aviation activity, and steady private-sector investment are all contributing to the increase.

Projections put oil consumption across non-OECD nations at roughly 59.7 million barrels per day for the current year, reflecting a gain of about 0.5 million barrels per day over the previous period. Across OECD member nations, consumption is forecast to shed roughly 110,000 barrels daily on a year-over-year basis, pulling the group's average down to 46.1 million barrels per day, with both the European and Asia-Pacific regions projected to post outright reductions.

OPEC forecast that wealthier industrialised nations — with Europe and the Asia-Pacific region at the front — would add roughly 0.4 million barrels per day to their collective oil consumption by 2027, while the developing world's demand for crude is anticipated to climb by close to 2 million barrels per day over the same horizon.

Projected output from nations outside the Declaration of Cooperation points to liquids volumes climbing by 0.6 million barrels per day in each of 2026 and 2027. Four nations — Brazil, the United States, Canada, and Argentina — are forecast to be the primary engines of expansion in the current year, with a partly different quartet of Qatar, Canada, Brazil, and Argentina pencilled in to take the lead when 2027 arrives.

Worldwide spending on oil and gas exploration and production is forecast to edge down roughly 2 per cent in 2026, landing near USD 613 billion, then recover with a 6 per cent upturn the following year to reach around USD 651 billion. The organisation argued that continued upstream investment would be indispensable for keeping pace with projected energy needs while preserving enough buffer capacity in production.

Alongside its broader assessment of the world economy's durability, OPEC put forward projections of 3 per cent expansion in 2026 and 3.2 per cent in 2027, with India's output anticipated to advance at 6.6 per cent and 6.5 per cent across those two years.