India is seeking long-term oil contracts with Saudi Arabia as India’s Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Mani Shankar Aiyar arrived for a three-day visit to Saudi Arabia this week.
The two countries have oil contracts but India seeks to extend them.
Aiyar said the total of India’s oil imports from Saudi Arabia are soon to double. He said India already imports around 24 million tons of crude from Saudi Arabia annually, amounting to 26 percent of its total crude imports. “We now want to secure long-term contracts with an assured delivery every year,” Aiyar said.
According to the Saudi daily Arab News, New Delhi and Riyadh want to boost cooperation in oil.
Talks are also underway to lay down a $4 billion pipeline which will run through India, Pakistan and Iran.