“The price at which we buy crude, liquefied petroleum gas, and liquefied natural gas is very crucial,” Khanna said. “There is definitely an advantage in having our own trading desk.”Singapore is a trading hub for a wide range of commodities including oil, energy, metals and agriculture. The company joins its bigger state-run peers – Indian Oil Corp (IOC) and Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) – in a push into global energy trading, a business long dominated by Western majors and commodity trading houses. ONGC is discussing a similar partnership with European oil majors, while IOC is in talks with Vitol Group for such a venture, Bloomberg News reported earlier. A global trading partner may again be sought, should there be a need in the future, he said.