(LiveMint)
As part of India’ effort to shield its consumers from any spike in global prices, petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan met Saudi Arabia’s energy minister Khalid A. Al-Falih in New Delhi. With the tensions escalating in the Persian Gulf, India, the world’s third-largest oil importer, has upped its diplomatic efforts to ensure energy security and is closely monitoring the Strait of Hormuz situation. Saudi Arabia is a crucial source of energy for India and the NDA government is trying to impress the Gulf Kingdom in maintaining global oil balance and supplies.
“Raised my concerns on the recent increase in Asian Premium, disturbances in the Strait of Hormuz impacting the movement of oil/LNG tankers and the decision of OPEC Plus members on extending production cuts leading to oil price volatility & its adverse impact on the Indian economy,” Pradhan said in a tweet.
This comes in the backdrop of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec)-plus’ arrangement extending its compact for production cuts, at a time when supplies from Iran and Venezuela are drying up. With the global energy landscape evolving rapidly, India is particularly vulnerable as it is the world’s third-largest oil consumer — importing more than 80% of its oil requirements and around 18% of natural gas.
