Oil on the boil

Domestic production of oil and gas has been lagging

Disputes within the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and OPEC+ have led to uncertainty about near-term crude oil production. Energy prices are likely to stay elevated due to demand from a rapidly recovering global economy, even if the energy exporters agree to an increase in production. This will mean pressure on India’s external account and higher inflation. In April 2020, the cartel of oil exporters had agreed to a two-year production cut to support energy prices as the world economy contracted. But the fast rollout of vaccination programmes, and a strong economic rebound have led to a fast