Rising crude oil prices ... Dharmendra Pradhan expressed concern to OPEC countries

Dharmendra Pradhan has expressed concern to the Secretary-General of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries over crude oil prices.

Federal Minister of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Steel Dharmendra Pradhan held high-level consultations with Dr Mohammed Chansui Burkinto, Secretary-General of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

During the meeting, the Minister expressed concern over rising crude oil prices and their impact on consumer and economic recovery. He said rising crude oil prices would increase inflationary pressure on India.

The two sides discussed issues of mutual interest, including the latest developments in the oil market, recovery in oil demand, economic growth expectations and tackling energy challenges.

Pradhan said that production restrictions should be lifted and the price of crude oil should be kept at a reasonable level in the interest of consumers and manufacturers, thereby leading to a recovery in consumption.

Pradhan thanked the Secretary-General of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, Dr. Mohammed Chanshui Burkinto, and key allies Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates for providing medicines, ISO containers, liquid medical oxygen and key petroleum products during the second wave of the Kovit epidemic. He was pleased with the OPEC study which said that India would be the fastest growing economy in 2021.

India is expanding technical cooperation, exchange of experts and other partnerships with OPEC.