India has decided to release 5 million barrels of crude oil from its Strategic Petroleum Reserves (SPRs) simultaneously with countries like the US, Japan, China and South Korea. In an official statement, the Ministry of Oil and Gas said that the release of crude oil will take place in consultation with these countries, which are also major global energy consumers.
The decision comes amid reports that the US has urged these countries to release crude from their reserves. The move is being seen as bringing down global commodity prices. India has reserves of about 26.5 million barrels of oil.
“India strongly believes that the pricing of liquid hydrocarbons should be reasonable, responsible and determined by market forces. India has repeatedly expressed concern about oil supply being artificially adjusted below demand by oil producing countries, leading to high prices and negative consequences from oil producing countries. ,” the statement said.
Official sources say the government has been continuously reviewing the high prices of petrol and diesel on the domestic front and in order to control their inflationary trends, an excise tax on petrol and diesel has been introduced. cuts of Rs 5 and Rs 10 respectively on November 3, 2021. , effective from November 4
Reuters previously reported on November 22 that Japanese and Indian officials are looking to release crude oil national reserves in tandem with the US and other major economies to lower prices.
US President Joe Biden has asked China, India, South Korea and Japan to release coordinated oil stocks as US gasoline prices soar and his approval ratings plummet ahead of the midterm congressional elections. period next year.
The request comes after the US government failed to convince OPEC+ to pump more oil with major producers saying the world was not short of crude, Reuters reported.
There is even information that Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has signaled that he is ready to release shares over the weekend.
