Oil prices likely to stay around $65/bbl, says petroleum minister Puri

Mint

4 days ago

New Delhi: Minister for petroleum and natural gas Hardeep Singh Puri on Friday said that crude oil prices are likely to stay near $65 per barrel due to the ample supply of oil in the global market.
Speaking at the CII Annual Business Summit 2025, the minister said that high production is weighing on the oil market. "There are enough supplies in the market. I see global prices, and here I am, very careful, to be in the range of $65 per barrel. My sense is that prices will hold. Supplies becoming available, the prices will be close to $65 a barrel,' he said.
He noted that although there have been disruptions due to geopolitical tensions, the prices have not surged as the market is aware that there are adequate supplies. Puri also said that economies with strategic reserves would want to fill them up when the price is low.
Mint earlier reported that the government is looking at filling the strategic reserves amid low global prices. The July contract of Brent on the Intercontinental Exchange was $63.96 per barrel, 0.3% lower than its previous close, at the time of going to press.
On the likely cut in retail prices of petrol and diesel, the minister told the media, 'If prices remain like this, then going forward, these are things which you can legitimately expect.'
Addressing the event, the minister highlighted steps taken by the government to boost domestic oil and gas production. He said that over 1 million square kilometres of sedimentary basins, previously marked as 'no-go' zones, have now been opened for exploration, following which over 37% of bids under the Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP) have come from these newly opened areas.
Stating that India will be one of the refining hubs, he said the trend was towards the emergence of refining hubs instead of teapot refineries. India's refining capacity is 260 million metric tonnes per annum (mmtpa), which is expected to reach 309.5 mmtpa by 2028, he said.
On the significance of the recently passed Oilfields (Regulation and Development) Amendment Act, 2025, Puri emphasised that India has made it easier to do business in exploration and production activities by introducing a single permit system.
Despite importing 5.6 million barrels of crude oil per day and spending $139 billion last year on imports, domestic reforms are expected to reduce this dependency. The minister said the government is encouraging domestic exploration while diversifying import sources to 40 from 27 countries.
On the clean energy front, he said that there is huge potential for the production of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) in large quantities in countries like India, Brazil, the US and Canada.