PM Modi calls for ‘responsible’ oil pricing, asks retailers not to raise prices

The government on Wednesday asked India’s state-run oil retail companies not to increase the prices of diesel and gasoline.

Companies like Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL), and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) were asked to keep a stable price for oil and not raise it.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while inaugurating the 16^th International Energy Forum (IEF) ministerial in New Delhi, called for a ‘responsible’ pricing in the oil market so as to balance the interest of oil and gas producers and consumers to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

Modi said a massive transformation was underway in the energy market with the consumption growth shifting from the developed countries to the developing and emerging countries.

PM Modi, while addressing the event, said, “The world has seen prices on a roller coaster for much too long. We need responsible prices to balance the interests of both producer and consumer. We need a transparent and flexible market...there has to be a mutually supportive relationship between producers and consumers. Efforts at artificially distorting prices are self-defeating as history has shown us.”

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He added, “We need a transparent and flexible market...there has to be a mutually supportive relationship between producers and consumers. Efforts at artificially distorting prices are self-defeating as history has shown us. Let us build a global consensus on responsible pricing which will serve both producer and consumer. In a period of global uncertainty, India needs energy security.”

Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Khalid A Al-Falih, who was also present at the event, said that India was a priority destination for Saudi investment and his country’s oil firm, Saudi Aramco, will continue to look to the country for more opportunities.

During the event, Saudi Aramco, which is the world’s largest oil producer, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to buy 50 per cent stake in a $44 billion oil refinery in Maharashtra. The remaining stakes are held by state-run corporations like IOCL, HPCL, and BPCL.

The Modi administration also said it wants to keep the oil prices under check and wants to see prices at about $50 a barrel in order to manage its finances in a better way, said oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan in an interview.