Fresh round of oil diplomacy on the cards
India to host Caspian oil sellers and Asian oil buyers meet
ENS ECONOMIC BUREAU
Posted online: Wednesday, June 01, 2005 at 0000 hours IST
NEW DELHI, MAY 31: India is all set to launch another round of oil diplomacy in mid-October. In its attempt to form an Asian oil community, India will host another meeting of central Asian oil producers with the four largest consumers of Asia —China, Korea, Japan and India.
According to Petroleum Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar, ‘‘In the week beginning October 17, we propose to host the oil ministers from Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan to a meeting with the four prime Asian buyers.’’
In early January this year, Aiyar had staged a coup of sorts when he got major oil producers like Saudi Arabia, Iran, Kuwait, UAE, Oman and Qatar together with prime Asian consumers India, China, Japan and Korea to give shape to a new regional forum that vowed to strengthen energy ties for ensuring stable energy supplies at reasonable prices.
Now he wants the Caspian Sea producers to come on board the Pan-Asia community. ‘‘We are creating brotherhood in the Asian oil economies,’’ Aiyar said.
On the agenda for the proposed meeting in mid-October is the setting up of an Asian oil market by evolving a marker crude that is produced and traded in the region.
At present, the current practice is that oil is sold to Asians at a discount or premium to the benchmark price of North American or European market.
Meet on fuel price hike today
New Delhi: The government may on Wednesday decide on revising fuel prices in line with increase in duties and spurt in crude oil prices.Economic Advisory Council Chairman R. Rangarajan on Tuesday met oil ministry officials on the issue of petrol, diesel, kerosene and LPG pricing, sources said. Rangarajan is likely to apraise the PM on the urgency for raising fuel prices without which the PSU oil companies were losing Rs 72 crore per day. A meeting of the PM with Aiyar and Finance Minister P. Chidambaram is expected on Wednesday. — ENS |
