New Delhi (Sputnik) — At the OPEC headquarters in Vienna, India's Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan asked OPEC to intensify bilateral dialogue to change the nature of engagement from a buyer-seller relationship to an energy partnership.
"As a large import destination, there should be no ‘Asian Premium' on the crude supplied to India and Asian buyers. For a long time, OPEC subsidized western buyers at the cost of Asian buyers," Dharmendra Pradhan said.
India stressed on the fact that while the security of supplies was important for consuming countries, the security of demand was equally important for producers.
"India will increasingly seek to leverage its power as a big importer of crude to get better prices, better deals. It is the beginning of a new era where any big importer will be like a king in this trade. Good for India and China," Narendra Taneja, India's leading energy expert, said.
India is participating in the 2nd India-OPEC Institutional Dialogue at the OPEC headquarters with its largest ever delegation. The meeting took place two days prior to the OPEC Ministerial meeting that is scheduled from May 25.
