NEW DELHI (CU)_India, being the world’s third largest oil importer, has requested major petroleum exporting countries belonging to OPEC+ to boost output, thereby fulfilling their promise of stable crude markets. As fuel demand is recovering to pre-pandemic levels, India would like to rely on reasonable oil prices, the nation’s petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Wednesday (March 3).
Oil prices crashed last year on account of the pandemic, as well as production cuts by the OPEC+ group, which comprises of major petroleum exporting countries and allies. However, although the prices have begun to recover, production is yet to return to pre-pandemic levels, Pradhan noted.
“(At) that point of time the producers assured us, especially OPEC assured the global market, that by the beginning of 2021 the demand would be coming back and production would be as usual. But I am sorry to say that production is yet to be normal by this time,” he said.
The minister pointed out that New Delhi supported the group’s decision to cut crude output last year, when the demand for oil collapsed owing to the pandemic.
Nevertheless, although higher oil prices might suit some nations, emerging countries such as India however require a reasonable price, he noted. Rising oil prices are causing fiscal challenges for the South Asian country, where retail fuel prices reached record highs, particularly with heavy taxes imposed.
With 84 per cent of its oil needs currently being imported, India will have to opt for alternative energy sources such as green hydrogen, if oil prices continue to rise, Pradhan said.
