India has issued stringent warnings to OPEC Nations against increased oil prices. Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) has told OPEC nations that if prices continue to hike, there would be a fall in demand for oil in the next seven years.
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IOC also told OPEC that in case prices continue to increase further, consumers in India will be more tempted to choose cheaper alternatives like electric vehicles or vehicles which run on gas, thus bringing a downfall in India’s petroleum demand.
India’s import oil last year stood at 1.6 billion barrels most of which came from the OPEC nations. India is the fastest growing crude oil consumer in the global market. Indian Oil Cooperation stated that given the prevalent trend in the oil prices the demand for India’s daily oil needs will be replaced by other alternatives.
Sanjeev Singh, Chairman of the Indian Oil Corporation said that 1 million barrels of India’s daily oil demands will be replaced by 2025 as per the present trends in oil prices.
Now how will OPEC react to India’s warnings? Will the OPEC give in to the pressure exerted by India or on the contrary can OPEC afford to ignore India given its stature in the global oil market?
Iranian Oil for India?
After India-US relations soured over India’s oil imports from Iran, Iran has put India in a spot of bother now. As India mulls to cease oil imports from Iran and rather import crude oil from Saudi Arabia and the US, Iran has issued stringent warnings to India. Iran’s diplomat in Delhi said that if India stops importing oil from Iran then Iran will abrogate ‘special privileges’ for India.
The Iranian diplomat said on 10th July that Iran has helped India as and when India needed. He said that Iran has helped India significantly on strategic issues like energy and connectivity yet India has not kept up its promises of investment in the Chahbar port. He delivered these words at the conference organised by the All India Minorities Front in New Delhi.
He further added that Iran has always been an open market to India be it for petroleum, urea or other areas of energy cooperation and Iran has always understood what India needed. He warned India against importing oil from the US, Saudi Arabia, Russia and others and said that if this happens then Iran will deprive India of all special privileges which have been extended to it.
