India, Mauritius Sign Energy Security Agreements
IOCL to supply Mauritius’ full requirement of petrol, diesel and aviation fuel under five-year deal
- India and Mauritius signed an MoU to deepen cooperation in oil, gas and biofuels.
- IOCL will supply Mauritius’ entire import requirement of petrol, diesel and ATF.
- A five-year agreement will provide Mauritius assured long-term fuel supplies.
- India and Mauritius also advanced cooperation in biofuels and marine fuel infrastructure.
GG News Bureau
Port Louis, 22nd Aug: India and Mauritius have strengthened their energy partnership with the signing of agreements covering oil and gas cooperation and long-term petroleum product supplies, during Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri’s official visit to Mauritius from August 20 to 21.
On August 20, Puri called on Mauritius Prime Minister Dr Navinchandra Ramgoolam, in whose presence India and Mauritius exchanged a Government-to-Government MoU on cooperation in the oil and gas sector. A long-term Sales and Purchase Agreement was also signed between Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) and the State Trading Corporation (STC) of Mauritius.
Under the five-year agreement, IOCL will supply Mauritius’ entire import requirement of Motor Spirit (petrol), High Speed Diesel and Aviation Turbine Fuel.
The oil and gas MoU provides an institutional framework for cooperation in petroleum product supplies, training and capacity building for Mauritian officials and biofuels.
The agreement is expected to provide Mauritius with greater security of fuel supplies and protection against price volatility. According to the government, it is the first long-term supply agreement concluded by an Indian public-sector oil marketing company outside South Asia in recent years.
During the visit, Puri held bilateral meetings with Mauritius’ Minister of Energy and Public Utilities Patrick Gervais Assirvaden, Minister of Commerce and Consumer Protection John Michaël Tzoun Sao Yeung Sik Yuen, and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade Dhananjay Ramful.
Puri also participated in the groundbreaking ceremony for India Oil (Mauritius) Ltd’s 27.5 thousand-tonne bunker marine fuel storage facility at Mer Rouge in Port Louis.
The agreements further strengthen India’s role as an energy partner in the Indian Ocean region. India has an annual refining capacity of around 267 million metric tonnes of petroleum products across 23 refineries and remains a net exporter of refined petroleum products.
The MoU also expands cooperation in biofuels, including knowledge exchange, research and training. Mauritius is a founding member of the Global Biofuels Alliance, an initiative launched during India’s G20 Presidency.
The Global Biofuels Alliance Secretariat has partnered with Mauritius’ Ministry of Energy and Public Utilities to develop a Biofuels Country Landscape Policy framework.
Puri and Assirvaden jointly witnessed the launch of the framework on August 21, marking another step towards strengthening Mauritius’ exploration of biofuels as part of its energy transition.
