Indian Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Monday called for talks between oil producers and consumers to stabilize prices.
Oil prices rose more than 2% following OPEC+'s decision to delay plans to increase production by a month. [O/R]
India, the world's third largest oil consumer, relies on foreign purchases for more than 80% of its oil needs.
“As a professional, I hope that everyone in this game finds a reason for producers and consumers to sit down together and discuss a realistic price, because it's not like one part of production was being cut,” Mr. Puri told Reuters.
He reiterated that there was no shortage of oil as new producers were entering the market while some countries were increasing production.
“So I think we need stability and predictability,” Puri said on the sidelines of the annual ADIPEC energy industry event in Abu Dhabi.
On the OPEC+ decision, he said: “It's your asset: “It's your asset – you decide not to use it, you can keep it, but there will come a point where after a few years, this asset will no longer be necessary, it will no longer have any use.”
On the other hand, some producers wanted to maximize production to quickly monetize their assets, he added.
According to him, technological changes such as green hydrogen and the transition to cleaner energy will change the global oil demand landscape within five years.
Nonetheless, he expects India to source more oil from the Gulf region as the global economic geography evolves.
