NEW DELHI: With crude prices hitting another four year high on Tuesday, breaching the $82 per barrel mark, Indian refiners, public and private sector firms have held discussions on measures to cut the burden of surging oil prices and the import bill on India, said sources in know.
One of the ways discussed is to cut down the days of crude inventory the refiners would traditionally hold to make an impact on the monthly crude volumes imported, a source said.
For instance, if refiners hold 18-20 days of inventory cutting it down by even 3-4 days can make some impact. “This is part of the positioning India has been trying to take, its place as a large importer and its unhappiness over persistent Asian premium charged by sellers,” he said.
This is part of overall thought process towards reduction in crude imports along with other measures like ethanol blending. With renewed push towards ethanol blending, the target this year can move up to 7 or 8 per cent against 4-5 per cent otherwise.