New Delhi: India will use whatever “margin of persuasion” it has when talking to oil producing countries to ensure fuel prices Down in the country, oil minister Hardeep Singh Puri said on Friday.
He said that India’s dependence on conventional energy sources like petrol and coal will remain for a very long time and the transition to green energy sources will settle only when their prices are affordable.
In his speech at the Indo-Pacific Regional Dialogue organized by the Indian Navy, Puri said, “As a minister, the government is very price sensitive. And I can tell you with full confidence that we will not be able to stand any margin of persuasion.” We have with our counterparts, either bilaterally, or multilaterally or multilaterally, to make sure that prices are down.”
A week ago, the minister had said that India is looking at bringing together public sector undertakings (PSUs) and private sector refiners to look for better crude oil import deals from Saudi Arabia and other countries.
Local retail petrol, diesel and LPG prices have hit record highs as international oil prices climbed to a multi-year high of $85 a barrel.
India, which imports 85 percent of its oil needs and is the world’s third-largest energy-consuming and importing country, is influencing producers to increase production to help stabilize rates at affordable levels.
The minister also said, “We are going to transition to green and sustainable energy very quickly, but the reliance on conventional energy is going to be there for a very long time. Let’s make no mistake on that.”
“If we don’t get the price right, and if we don’t allow access to energy at affordable prices, we’ll have a problem making sure the transition to green energy from here is organized,” he noted.
India is the only country where per capita energy consumption is one-third of the global average, growth in terms of energy requirement will be exponential, he noted.
It has positive and negative sides, Puri said.
The minister said that if the prices remain high by the major producers and more oil is not put in the market, it will affect us at one level or the other.
He said that today the consumption of petrol and diesel in India are 20 percent and 12-14 percent more respectively than before the Kovid-19 epidemic.
“It means the economy is firing on all six cylinders,” he said.
He said that India’s dependence on conventional energy sources like petrol and coal will remain for a very long time and the transition to green energy sources will settle only when their prices are affordable.
In his speech at the Indo-Pacific Regional Dialogue organized by the Indian Navy, Puri said, “As a minister, the government is very price sensitive. And I can tell you with full confidence that we will not be able to stand any margin of persuasion.” We have with our counterparts, either bilaterally, or multilaterally or multilaterally, to make sure that prices are down.”
A week ago, the minister had said that India is looking at bringing together public sector undertakings (PSUs) and private sector refiners to look for better crude oil import deals from Saudi Arabia and other countries.
Local retail petrol, diesel and LPG prices have hit record highs as international oil prices climbed to a multi-year high of $85 a barrel.
India, which imports 85 percent of its oil needs and is the world’s third-largest energy-consuming and importing country, is influencing producers to increase production to help stabilize rates at affordable levels.
The minister also said, “We are going to transition to green and sustainable energy very quickly, but the reliance on conventional energy is going to be there for a very long time. Let’s make no mistake on that.”
“If we don’t get the price right, and if we don’t allow access to energy at affordable prices, we’ll have a problem making sure the transition to green energy from here is organized,” he noted.
India is the only country where per capita energy consumption is one-third of the global average, growth in terms of energy requirement will be exponential, he noted.
It has positive and negative sides, Puri said.
The minister said that if the prices remain high by the major producers and more oil is not put in the market, it will affect us at one level or the other.
He said that today the consumption of petrol and diesel in India are 20 percent and 12-14 percent more respectively than before the Kovid-19 epidemic.
“It means the economy is firing on all six cylinders,” he said.
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