Crude oil imports to rise over 90 pc: Parikh

New Delhi, Sep 29 (UNI) Country's dependence on crude oil imports would increase to 90-95 per cent from current level of nearly 70 per cent, a government official said.

''Crude oil prices have gone up around 82 dollar per barrel which were too high for developing nations to absorb their impact on sustained basis and the only feasible alternate left is that OPEC nations should enhance crude oil productions so that disruptions do not take place in crude supplies,'' Member Planning Commission Kirit S Parikh said in a seminar.

Mr parikh who is also in Energy Co-ordination Committee headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh further said that oil hungry countries would push and intensify their campaign to find crude oil substitutes on war footing, consequences of which would be averse to OPEC national interests.

He called upon domestic oil producing companies to push up their exploration efforts for oil and gas discovery by optimally exploiting marginal oil and gas fields and blocks offered under stipulations of new exploration and licensing policy.

Oil companies may harness non-conventional energy sources such as exploration of bio-diesel and other sources like energy from solar, wind and biomass etc, he added.

''The government would soon put in place a regulator for petroleum sector and continue to pursue investment friendly policies so that investors do not have any complaints for discovery of hydrocarbon in the country,'' Mr Parikh said.

UNI