Indian refiners have snapped up relatively cheap Russian oil, shunned by Western companies and countries since Moscow imposed sanctions for what it calls a “special military operation” in Ukraine.
Indian imports of Russian oil increased by a factor of 4.7, or more than 400,000 barrels per day, in April-May, but fell in July.
Imports of crude oil from Saudi Arabia by the world’s third-largest oil importer and consumer rose in July by more than 25% after Saudi Arabia lowered the official selling price in June and July by May report. Saudi Arabia remained in third place among India’s suppliers.
“As for India, I see that for the foreseeable future a lot of our crude oil supplies will come from Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait, among others,” Puri told Reuters in an interview on the sidelines of the Gastech Milan conference.
Although oil imports from Russia fell 7.3% in July from June levels, Moscow remained the country’s second largest oil supplier after Iraq.
Puri said that at the end of the fiscal year, March 31, 2022, India’s purchases from Russia were only 0.2%, but increased thereafter when the global situation became ” problematic”.
“We have started to buy a little more, but we are still buying a fraction of what Europe buys from Russia. A democratically elected government like the one we have in India will ensure that consumers are supplied with energy (not only) on on a secure basis, but also on an affordable basis,” he said.
Asked if future purchases of Russian oil will increase or decrease, Puri replied that he was not ruling anything out.
“When prices are high, logistics factors apply. We have a duty to our consumers.”
European countries and the United States have imposed heavy sanctions on Russia since Moscow sent troops to Ukraine on February 24. New Delhi called for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine, but did not explicitly condemn the invasion.
While Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government enjoys good relations with Washington and the West, Indian officials say domestic needs come first and argue Russia has been a better friend than the US when it comes to cooperation energetic.
Mr Puri said the rise in world energy prices is not directly linked to the war in Ukraine but rather to the “imbalance between supply and demand”, with the geopolitical situation being an additional factor.
Asked if he would support a Russian oil price cap, Puri said they would look into the matter once more details were available.