India on Thursday pressed oil cartel Opec for an “affordable” oil price within a “reasonable band”. It also urged the producers to phase out production cuts.
Opec nations such as Saudi Arabia have traditionally been India’s principal oil source. But the world’s third-biggest oil importer has started tapping newer crude oil sources after Opec and its allies ignored its calls to ease supply curbs. As a result, Opec’s share in India’s oil imports has dropped to about 60 per cent in May from 74 per cent in the previous month.
Petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan in a virtual dialogue with Opec secretary general Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo reiterated concerns over oil prices, which have shot up above $75 per barrel — the highest since April 2019.
The spike has led to retail petrol and diesel prices climbing to a record high. Petrol is above the Rs 100 per litre mark in nine states and Union Territories. Diesel is being sold at over Rs 100 a litre in Rajasthan and Odisha.
