Govt seeks ‘affordable’ price, production cut phase-out from OPEC

With domestic retail fuel prices soaring to record high on rising global oil rates, India on Thursday asked oil cartel OPEC for ‘affordable’ oil price within a ‘reasonable band’ and that the producers should phase out production cuts.

OPEC nations such as Saudi Arabia have mostly been India’s principal oil source. But, OPEC and its allies — called OPEC+ — ignoring its call for ease supply curbs had led to the world’s third-biggest oil importer tap newer sources to diversify its crude oil imports.

As a result, OPEC’s share in India’s oil imports has dropped to about 60 per cent in May from 74 per cent in the previous month.