Amid rising fuel prices, PM Narendra Modi to meet oil company heads today

As petrol prices continue to spiral upward, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Monday will meet the chief executives of top global and Indian oil and gas companies to take stock of the global energy scenario. The meeting would also deliberate on ways to revive investment in oil and gas exploration and production, according to news agency PTI.

In Delhi, petrol today costs Rs 82.72/litre and diesel is Rs 75.46/litre. Meanwhile, petrol in Mumbai is retailing at Rs 88.18 per litre and diesel is at Rs 79.11/litre, data on the Indian Oil Corporation website showed.

In a bid to control the rise in prices, the central government, earlier this month, announced a cut of Rs 2.50 per litre in prices of petrol and diesel and urged states to match the reduction. While the Opposition has blamed the Union government for not taking enough measures to keep a tab on prices, the latter has maintained that global crude oil prices and other international factors are causing a hike in prices of fuel.

Today’s meeting, coordinated by the NITI Aayog, is likely to focus on challenges posed by volatile oil prices and the US sanctions on Iran that come into effect from November 4. The meeting would look at measures to attract investments and steps for making it easier to do business in India, PTI added. The government is looking at private investment to raise domestic oil and gas production, which has stagnated for the last few years while fuel demand has been rising by 5-6 per cent annually.

Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) Secretary General Mohammed Barkindo Saudi Oil Minister Khalid A Al Falih, BP CEO Bob Dudley, Total head Patrick Fouyane, Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani and Vedanta chief Anil Agarwal are expected to attend the meeting today.

Also likely in attendance are ONGC Chairman and Managing Director Shashi Shanker, Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) Chairman Sanjiv Singh, GAIL India head B C Tripathi, Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) Chairman Mukesh Kumar Suran, Oil India Chairman Utpal Bora and Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) Chairman D Rajkumar.