News Brief
Global Oil Glut? Trump’s Presidency Likely To Ease India’s Crude Woes
An oil refinery
Donald Trump’s victory in the US Presidential election, coupled with rising oil production from countries in the Western Hemisphere, is likely to boost global oil availability—a development seen as beneficial for major oil importers like India, according to Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri.
Puri also expressed hope that increased output from nations such as the US, Canada, Brazil, and Guyana could encourage the OPEC+ alliance to reconsider its production cuts and expand output.
Additionally, Trump’s diplomatic efforts to ease geopolitical tensions may further enhance oil affordability and availability.
“More and more oil is coming to the market. One expects, as a result of that, that the market situation will calm. At some stage, the producers who have cut back (oil production) will also decide…if there is more coming onto the market, they just might use the oil that they have in order to earn revenue for development. I see that as a natural byproduct of where we are going,” the minister said at a Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) event in Delhi, Indian Express reported.
As the world’s third-largest consumer of crude oil, importing over 85 per cent of its requirements, India stands to benefit from increased global oil supply and the potential easing of international oil prices.
While it may be too early to say how Trump’s second term as president will turn out to be for global oil markets, industry watchers expect the Trump administration’s economic and energy policies to put limited downward pressure on oil prices.
However, his aggressive stance on tariffs, especially against China—the world’s largest oil importer—could dampen global oil demand.
Further, Trump’s push for large increase in US oil production and even exports, for which he employed the slogan “Drill, baby, drill”, could add the global oil supply and even push major crude producers to compete for market share by increasing their own oil production and exports.
“What we need is stability and predictability (in oil markets) so that in the period ahead, countries can base their decisions on lines which are predictable. Because fluctuations create uncertainties in the market, and that is not good for economic decision making…Stability in oil prices depends both on the availability and the global geopolitical situation calming,” Puri said on Thursday.
