While India is not in favour of oil prices as low as $30 a barrel, the prevailing price levels are too high and stand to hurt the country’s fiscal situation, Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Wednesday.
‘Beyond threshold’
“Globally, crude prices have gone beyond the threshold, which can be sustained by the world, particularly countries like India, which is a key driver of world economy,” Mr. Pradhan said at an OPEC conference in Vienna. “These prices are creating stress throughout global economy, as it is giving pain to us in India.”
“The global economic outlook already has threats from trade wars, geopolitical events and the threat of instability coming back to the Eurozone,” the Minister said. “The already fragile world economic growth will be at threat if oil prices persist at these levels. My fear is this will lead to energy poverty in many parts of the world.”
“While we are not in favour of prices as low as $30 per barrel, we also do not support the prevailing high price which dent our fiscal balance and undermine our development process,” Mr. Pradhan added. “They also cause undue hardships, particularly to those at the bottom of the pyramid in developing and least developed countries.”
Mr. Pradhan went on to say that the prices of oil and gas had become subject to the “vagaries of geopolitics” and urged the OPEC countries to commit towards ensuring more sustainable prices.
