NEW DELHI: Oil conferences, in the backdrop of falling international prices, are not something that India has witnessed in the recent past. It was not surprising, therefore, to see petroleum minister Murli Deora not mentioning anything on the international oil prices, a concern expressed too often till last year, in his address at the inauguration of Petrotech 2007.
Deora chose to concentrate on affordable energy and the principle of equity that is also part of the conference theme. He stressed on the link between human development index and per capita energy consumption even as ministers from oil producing countries expressed their concerns on the falling prices.
Deora had ruled out any cut in domestic prices till international prices come down further though Nigerian petroleum minister Edmund Daukoru later said prices below a certain level may not allow long-term investment. “We are looking at balance of demand and supply.” He had earlier told reporters that certainty of demand was important, especially since in “major consuming countries there is a shift towards nuclear”.
Saudi oil minister Ali bin Ibrahim Al-Naimi on his arrival in India dismissed concerns of further cut in oil production stating cuts already agreed by OPEC had removed much of the world’s excess supply and there was no need to panic over a steep fall in prices.
Naimi, minister of the world’s largest oil exporter, saw no need for OPEC to hold an emergency meeting before its next scheduled gathering on March 15 in Vienna. Oil dropped more than $1 after the Saudi oil minister’s remarks.
Yemen oil minister Khalid Mahfoundh Bahah had earlier expressed concerns that their economy would suffer if Brent crude index fell below $55 a barrel.
With the Indian benchmark crude oil currently moving about $25 a barrel lower from the highs of $75.2 in August, the government is not worried but as external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee said in his inaugural address, “Oil diplomacy must remain harnessed with a view to balancing and harmonising various interests, occasionally somewhat or seemingly contradictory, such as those between producers and consumers.”
