With West Asia crisis on mind, India dials Saudi on crude supply

NEW DELHI: India on Thursday urged Saudi Arabia to do its bit for maintaining oil market stability to avoid price shock to consumer nations, even as Riyadh said buyers must also play their part to secure free navigation through the Strait of Hormuz.
Stepping up diplomatic efforts to secure oil supplies, oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Thursday raised with his Saudi counterpart Khalid A Al-Falih India's concerns over possible disruption in oil supplies due to the tense geopolitical situation in the Strait of Hormuz, which sees a fifth of global oil supplies pass through it.
Pradhan also raised India's concerns over possible spike in fuel prices as a result of volatility in oil market due to the Hormuz strait situation and recent hike in the premium charged by West Asian oil producers on shipments to Asia.
"Raised my concerns on the recent increase in Asian Premium, disturbances in the Strait of Hormuz impacting the movement of oil/LNG tankers and the decision of OPEC Plus members on extending production cuts leading to oil price volatility & its adverse impact on the Indian economy," Pradhan tweeted after his meeting with Al-Falih.
India has invited Saudi investments in developing its strategic oil storage, while Saudi Aramco is holding separate talks with a consortium of Indian state-owned companies and Reliance Industries Ltd for investing in refinery and petrochemicals projects.
On his part, the Saudi minister told Reuters after the meeting, "We, of course, call on the international community and have discussions with my counterpart minister Pradhan today that India also needs to do its part of securing free navigation of sea links transporting energy to the rest of the world".
India is the world's third largest oil importer and particularly vulnerable to supply disruptions and oil market volatility as it imports 82% of its crude requirement. Saudi Arabia is India's second largest supplier after Iraq.