Oil at US$45-US$50 is a fair price for India's exploration goals

New Delhi

CRUDE at US$45 to US$50 a barrel is enough to encourage India's own exploration without squeezing fuel consumers, according to the oil minister of the world's fourth-largest user.

While the collapse in prices has created a buyers' market and boosted India's bargaining power amid an oversupply, low crude is "challenging" for the nation's own oil fields, Dharmendra Pradhan said in an interview in New Delhi on Monday. The government's priority is to protect the interest of consumers and simultaneously attract investments in domestic production activity, he said.