New Delhi, Sep 13 (IANS) Petroleum Minister Murli Deora has requested more crude oil under term contract from Nigeria and additional quantity of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Qatar during talks with his counterparts at the ongoing OPEC meet in Vienna.

Accompanied by Petroleum Secretary M.S. Srinivasan, Deora is in Vienna to attend the 3rd OPEC International Seminar.

During interaction with Edmund Daukoru, minister of state for petroleum resources of Nigeria and the current president of the OPEC meet, Deora emphasised the need for increasing the volume of crude oil imports by Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) on term contract basis.

Nigeria is the second largest crude oil supplier to India after Saudi Arabia.

With Nigerian crude oil production on the rise, Daukoru has "agreed to favourably consider enhancing the term contract volume as and when additional volumes become available with them", the petroleum ministry said in a statement issued here Wednesday.

To Daukoru's request for Indian investment in Nigerian downstream oil sector (refining and petrochemical), Deora urged that the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between the state-owned IOC and Edo state of Nigeria to set up a refinery should be put on fast track.

During his meeting with Qatar's Second Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Energy and Industry Abdullah Bin Hamad Al Attiyah, Deora reiterated India's keenness to source additional volume of LNG.

Qatar currently supplies five million tonnes of LNG to India and has committed to supply another 2.5 million tonnes from 2009.

Extending an invitation to the Qatari deputy prime minister to visit India, Deora also sought Qatar's participation in the Indian exploration and petrochemical sector through appropriate investments.

At a luncheon meeting, Iraqi Oil Minister Hussain Al-Shahristani meanwhile sought India's active participation in the downstream sector.

Recalling the traditional warm relations between the two countries and in particular the reliability which has been the hallmark of Indo-Iraq relationship, Deora assured Al-Shahristani that India would fully support Iraq in its reconstruction and oil sector.

He told Al-Shahristani that state-owned energy major ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL) had already started working on Iraq's exploration block 8, which was awarded to it prior to the US military action and overthrow of former Iraqi ruler Saddam Hussain.

The seismic work on the block was suspended in the wake of the war.

The petroleum ministry conveyed OVL's keenness to restart the work and also to commence negotiations on the Tuba field.

The Iraqi minister has assured full support, the petroleum ministry stated.