The government on Friday said that private companies should also participate in the crude oil procurement/ purchase contracts along with the State-run companies such as Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum.

There are only two companies from the private sector – Reliance and Nayara Energy.

“There are only two large companies in the private sector...so we want to them to participate so that there can be a price band in crude oil prices,” Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, and Housing and Urban Affairs, said at the 5th India Energy Forum by CERAWeek here.

He said the World Bank had stated that “the surge in energy prices poses significant near-term risks to global inflation and, if sustained, could also weigh on growth in energy-importing countries.” The Minister said this is something that government has been consistently saying.

“We have introduced a number of reforms to meet national energy needs based on the Energy Vision as laid out by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, covering energy access, energy efficiency, energy sustainability, energy security and energy justice. India is advocating for Energy Justice on every global platform,” he said.

Puri said the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas is also focussed on increasing exploration in India to reduce import dependency. He said that currently in India, only six out of the 26 sedimentary basins have been explored.

“We are looking for international partners to participate in the exploration journey of India,” he added.

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