India is aiming to build bigger oil inventories, expand storage capacity, and strengthen its supply partnerships to fight price volatility ahead, Bloomberg News reported Thursday.
The country dealt with the Iran war-induced price volatility through diversified energy supplies and strong ties with producers despite its heavy dependence on Middle East oil, liquefied petroleum gas, and liquefied natural gas, the report said, citing oil minister Hardeep Singh Puri.
The government also kept retail fuel prices stable, leaving state-owned refiners with combined losses of 747.81 billion Indian rupees on diesel, gasoline, and LPG sales during the April-June quarter, Puri told reporters in New Delhi.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate a 180,000-barrel-per-day greenfield refinery in Rajasthan on Saturday in a bid to boost domestic fuel supplies, although the new refinery will raise the country's crude imports by about 150,000 barrels per day.
India's refining capacity is forecasted to jump about 20% to 6.2 million barrels per day by 2030, the report said.
(Market Chatter news is derived from conversations with market professionals globally. This information is believed to be from reliable sources but may include rumor and speculation. Accuracy is not guaranteed.)