[우크라 침공] India “supports release of oil reserves to stabilize oil prices”

Gas station in Jammu, India.

[EPA 연합뉴스 자료사진. 재판매 및 DB 금지]

(New Delhi = Yonhap News) Correspondent Kim Young-hyun = The Indian government announced that it supports the international community’s plan to release strategic oil to respond to rising oil prices.

The Indian Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (hereinafter referred to as the Ministry of Petroleum) said in a press release on the afternoon of the 26th (local time) that it is monitoring the international energy market and the possibility of disruptions in energy supply amid the worsening geopolitical situation.

“India is prepared to take appropriate measures to ensure a sustainable supply of (oil) at stable prices,” the Ministry of Petroleum added.

He added that he supports the release of strategic oil reserves to alleviate market instability and calm crude oil prices.

However, the Ministry of Petroleum did not specifically state when and to what extent the strategic oil reserves would be released.

According to Bloomberg, India currently stocks 31 million barrels of crude oil.

Although India is an oil producing country, it is also the third largest oil importer in the world due to its high demand. 85% of oil demand is met by imports.

International oil prices have soared recently due to the worsening situation in Ukraine.

The price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) broke above $100 a barrel for the first time since 2014 on the news that Russia had invaded Ukraine on the 24th.

After that, oil prices seem to have stabilized somewhat due to news that Russia and Ukraine are trying to negotiate a meeting, but the dominant analysis is that for the time being, a high rise in international oil prices is inevitable.

As a result, major oil-consuming countries such as the United States, Japan, and Australia are known to prepare for the release of strategic oil reserves.

Previously, the Joe Biden administration announced the release of 50 million barrels of strategic oil to keep oil prices down in November last year, and South Korea, Britain, India, China and Japan also joined in the release.

At the time, the Indian government announced that it would release 5 million barrels of its strategic oil reserve.

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