India Relaxed About OPEC+ Cutting Oil Output, Minister Says

(Bloomberg) -- India’s oil minister said the country isn’t concerned about OPEC+’s output cuts and Saudi Arabia’s recent decision not to expand production capacity.

“There is enough oil in the world and new suppliers are coming in,” Hardeep Singh Puri said on the sidelines of India Energy Week in Goa. “You decide, you want to sell it or you want to keep it in the ground.” 

The world’s third-biggest oil importer behind China and the US, India is set to be the single largest source of global oil demand growth between now and 2030 thanks to a booming economy, growing middle class and youthful demographics, according to the International Energy Agency.

Read More: Global Oil Demand Growth to Hinge on India’s Path, IEA Says

India’s oil-buying spree comes as the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, including Russia, are capping their production amid demand concerns. OPEC+ agreed to withhold roughly 2 million barrels of daily output in the first quarter to avert a glut. In addition, Saudi Aramco last month abandoned a plan to boost its oil output capacity to 13 million barrels a day by 2027, raising further questions about the kingdom’s view on future consumption.

“If the Saudis or anyone else say they don’t want to produce, I think they have the right to do it,” Puri said.

Puri’s comments represent a more relaxed stance toward OPEC+ cuts than New Delhi has shown in the past. There was a visible rift between the two sides in 2021, when India repeatedly urged the alliance to bolster production and complained during a public conference that OPEC+ policy was “creating confusion for the consuming countries.”

India has remained neutral in the West’s standoff with Russia following the invasion of Ukraine, seeing it as an opportunity to buy discounted Russian barrels. As a result, Russia now accounts for some 30% of Indian crude imports, overtaking traditional suppliers like Iraq and Saudi Arabia. 

(Updates with background in penultimate paragraph.)

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