India seeks more oil from Opec members except Iran

New Delhi: India is seeking extra oil supplies from Opec members Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Algeria, as the country, already cutting its dependence on sanctions-hit Iran, works to secure additional barrels to feed its expanding refining capacity. India has sought an additional 100,000 barrels per day (bpd) of oil—equivalent to 5 million tonnes a year—from its biggest supplier, Saudi Arabia, on top of 640,000 bpd which it got in 2011-12, a government statement said, citing a meeting in Vienna on Thursday between oil ministers of the two countries.[caption id=“attachment_344141” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Petroleum Minister Jaipal Reddy. Image courtesy PIB “]  [/caption] India, exempted on Monday from the latest US sanctions aimed against Iran’s disputed nuclear programme after cutting crude purchases from Tehran, is the world’s fourth-largest oil importer and the second-biggest customer of the Islamic republic. In 2012-13, India’s annual oil imports from Iran could fall even further than a planned 11 percent cut as it is struggling to secure Iran shipments, hit by insurance problems triggered by European sanctions that take effect in July. At a meeting with his Saudi counterpart Ali al-Naimi, Petrleum Minister S Jaipal Reddy also invited investment from the world’s top oil exporter in its petrochemical and downstream sector. During a meeting with Iranian oil minister Rostam Qasemi, Reddy sought more time to settle terms of a service contract for part of the giant South Pars gas field between state-run ONGC Videsh Ltd and Iran Offshore Oil Company, the statement said. Ministers were gathered in Vienna for a meeting of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec). Development of Iran’s energy sector has been slowed by the sanctions and many foreign companies have been forced to pull out. Energy-hungry India is keen to keep discussions running. Reddy also sought extra oil supplies from Algeria, which has recently started supplying state-run Indian Oil Corp. and may soon supply Hindustan Petroleum Corp . India, which faces declining local gas output, also wants liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies from Algeria on a long-term basis and Reddy added said it wanted to invest in the sector in Algeria. State-run GAIL (India) Ltd is in talks with Algeria’s national oil company Sonatrach for LNG imports on annual basis, the statement said. Reddy also discussed pricing of a 3.5 million tonnes a year LNG deal between Petronet LNG and RasGas with Qatar’s oil minister Mohammed al-Sada, hoping for an early solution. Qatar, the world’s top LNG exporter, annually supplies 7.5 million tonnes of LNG to Petronet under a long term deal. Reuters