India wants fixed price element for crude purchases

India, the world's third-biggest energy consumer, wants oil producers to consider supplying crude under longer-term contracts at a fixed rate to help shield consumer countries from price volatility.

At the CERAWeek India Energy Forum today, oil ministry secretary Tarun Kapoor suggested that India's state-owned refiner IOC could purchase as much as 70pc of its crude import requirements under such contracts.

India, which imported 3.9mn b/d of crude and condensate last month, has seen its oil import costs rise sharply this year on the back of higher crude prices. The country is pushing for the Opec+ coalition to do more to lower prices, and the government plans to ask India's state-run and private-sector refiners to negotiate jointly with the group on achieving this.

"Opec+ should factor in the sentiments of other countries," oil minister Hardeep Singh Puri said today.

India depends on imports to meet 85pc of its crude needs, over 55pc of its gas demand and around 60pc of its LPG requirements. The country's oil demand will rise to 7.1mn b/d by 2030 from 5mn b/d in 2019, leading to net dependence on imports of 91pc by 2030, the IEA said in its India Energy Outlook 2021 report.

India has resorted to 10pc ethanol blending in gasoline and plans to achieve 20pc soon, Puri said. In a bid to reduce its reliance on energy imports and control pollution, the country plans to roll out 5,000 compressed biogas (CBG) plants. It has also set ambitious targets for renewable energy and green hydrogen generation.

By Dinakar S