Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri visited Mauritius on August 20 and 21, during which India and Mauritius signed a government-to-government Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on cooperation in the oil and gas sector and concluded a long-term agreement for the supply of petroleum products.
On August 20, Puri called on Mauritian Prime Minister Dr Navinchandra Ramgoolam. In their presence, the two countries exchanged the MoU, while Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL) and the State Trading Corporation (STC) of Mauritius signed a long-term sales and purchase agreement for the supply of petroleum products.
Under the agreement, IOCL will meet Mauritius’ entire import requirement of Motor Spirit (MS), High Speed Diesel (HSD) and Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF).
The MoU institutionalises the longstanding energy partnership between India and Mauritius and covers cooperation in petroleum product supplies, training and capacity building for Mauritian officials, as well as biofuels.
The five-year agreement between IOCL and STC provides for assured long-term supplies of petroleum products to Mauritius, aimed at strengthening the country’s energy security and reducing exposure to supply disruptions and price volatility. According to the official statement, 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 also 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 Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade Minister Dhananjay Ramful.
The minister also participated in the groundbreaking ceremony for India Oil (Mauritius) Ltd’s 27.5 TMT bunker marine fuel storage facility at Mer Rouge in Port Louis.
India’s growing role as an energy supplier
India has emerged as a major global refining hub, with an annual refining output of 267 million metric tonnes of petroleum products across 23 refineries, making it a net exporter of refined products, according to the official statement.
India already meets the petroleum requirements of Nepal and Bhutan and supplies significant quantities of refined petroleum products to several other countries. The agreement with Mauritius further strengthens India’s role as a reliable energy partner and positions it as a key fuel supplier to the island nation, while expanding India’s strategic and economic engagement in the Indian Ocean region.
Cooperation in biofuels
The MoU also provides for cooperation in biofuels through the exchange of knowledge, research and training.
Mauritius is a founding member of the Global Biofuels Alliance (GBA), an initiative launched during India’s G20 Presidency. Under its country engagement programme, the GBA 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 Biofuels Country Landscape Policy framework on August 21, marking a step towards Mauritius exploring its energy transition through biofuels.
