Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Thursday called Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) key player Saudi Arabia to convey India's concerns about high oil prices which have pushed fuel rates to record high. Puri spoke to Prince Abdul Aziz bin Salman Al Saud, Minister of Energy of Saudi Arabia. He had on Saturday spoken to his Qatari counterpart.

Taking to his official Twitter handle, the Petroleum Minister wrote "Saudi Arabia is a central player in international energy market," -  "I conveyed my desire to work with His Royal Highness Prince Abdulaziz to bring greater predictability and calm in the global oil markets, and also to see hydrocarbons become more affordable." Puri described his discussions with the Saudi Minister as "warm and friendly".  The discussions focused "on strengthening bilateral energy partnership and developments in the global energy markets," he said. "Highlighted the crucial role of Saudi Arabia in rapidly growing energy needs of India in the coming years, and my strong desire to work with His Royal Highness to further diversify our bilateral strategic energy partnership beyond buyer-seller to see greater two-way investments."

As fuel prices climbed to a record high, Puri has started dialling oil-producing nations to impress upon them for a need to make prices affordable for consumers. Puri, who last week called Energy Minister of Qatar, on Wednesday dialled his counterpart in the UAE, Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber.

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