India urges OPEC to move to responsible oil pricing

Vienna, June 21: India on Wednesday urged the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) cartel to move to responsible pricing of oil and gas, saying the current prices are posing a threat to fragile world economic growth. Addressing an OPEC seminar here, Indian Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said global trade practices in the hydrocarbons sector are not contributing to energy access and affordability to all. “It is high time to move to responsible pricing, one that balances the interests of both the producer and consumer. We also need to move to transparent and flexible markets for both oil and gas. “We often see global trade practices in the field of oil and gas which are not contributing to energy access and affordability and become a hindrance to sustainability. Price of oil and gas have become subject to vagaries of geopolitics,” he said. Noting that high oil prices hit economic development of many countries, Pradhan said that the fragile world economic growth will be at threat if oil prices continue at these levels. “My fear is this will lead to energy poverty in many parts of the world,” he said. Pradhan pointed out that crude prices have gone beyond the threshold which can be sustained by the world. “These prices are creating stress throughout global economy, as it is giving pain to us in India. The already fragile world economic growth will be at threat if oil prices persist at these levels,” he said. (IANS)

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