From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: OPEC+
Mains level: Global crude oil pricing dynamics and its impact on India
India has made a case for affordable oil prices in the backdrop of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries-plus (OPEC+) combine slashing production amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Global crude oil pricing dynamics greatly impact India and its import bill. Kindly refer to the article titled “Oil Prices and OPEC+” pinned below this newscard. Various aspects related to the issue are covered in the Burning Issue section . It seeks to answer all your doubts such as ; Impact on Fuel prices, India’s forex reserves, Strategic petroleum reserves, etc.
Why a cause of worry?
- OPEC accounts for around 40% of global production.
- The OPEC accounts for 80% of India’s crude oil imports.
- Any production cut by the OPEC plus arrangement impacts India’s energy security efforts in the short run.
Impact on India
- India, which is one of the major OPEC consumers, has always stood for a global consensus on responsible pricing.
- Indian refiners have cut production as the lockdown has led to a sharp decline in demand for transportation fuels.
- Demand for domestic cooking gas has, however, increased as more people stay indoors during the lockdown aimed at containing the spread of the coronavirus.
About OPEC+
- The non-OPEC countries which export crude oil along with the 14 OPECs are termed as OPEC plus countries.
- OPEC plus countries include Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Brunei, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mexico, Oman, Russia, South Sudan and Sudan.
- Saudi and Russia, both have been at the heart of a three-year alliance of oil producers known as OPEC Plus — which now includes 11 OPEC members and 10 non-OPEC nations — that aims to shore up oil prices with production cuts.
Back2Basics: OPEC
- OPEC is a permanent, intergovernmental organization, created at the Baghdad Conference in 1960, by Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela.
- It aims to manage the supply of oil in an effort to set the price of oil in the world market, in order to avoid fluctuations that might affect the economies of both producing and purchasing countries.
- It is headquartered in Vienna, Austria.
- OPEC membership is open to any country that is a substantial exporter of oil and which shares the ideals of the organization.
- Today OPEC is a cartel that includes 14 nations, predominantly from the middle east whose sole responsibility is to control prices and moderate supply.
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