- India is the world’s third largest oil consumer and, according to Hardeep Singh Puri, accounts for 30% of global consumption.
- India has been buying Russian oil at a bargain price since world powers imposed sanctions on the Kremlin in a bid to curb its ability to raise funds for its war on Ukraine.
- “We haven’t let geopolitical turmoil or the pandemic or anything else hamper our ability to supply our consumers,” Puri added.
India will get oil from anywhere as long as the conditions are favourable, India’s energy minister told CNBC.
India is the world’s third largest oil consumer and, according to Hardeep Singh Puri, accounts for 30% of global consumption.
“Today we are confident that we will be able to use our market to supply ourselves wherever we need to go, wherever we get favorable terms,” the minister told CNBC’s Tanvir Gill on “Squawk Box Europe”, in the part of India’s energy week. .
“In beneficial terms in this situation is: you have to be sure of your supplies,” he explained.
India has been buying Russian oil at a bargain price since world powers imposed sanctions on the Kremlin in a bid to curb its ability to raise funds for its war on Ukraine.
An oil refinery, operated by Bharat Petroleum Corp., in Mumbai, India. Dhiraj Singh/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Dhiraj Singh | Bloomberg | Getty Images
India’s oil imports hit a five-month high in December as the country actively increased its purchases of Russian crude, according to Reuters.
The report also said that around 70% of Russian oil shipments in January are destined for India, and the South Asian country has been the main buyer of Ural-grade oil from Moscow for several months now.
“We haven’t let geopolitical turmoil or the pandemic or anything else hamper our ability to supply our consumers,” Puri added.
In his inaugural speech during India’s Energy Week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called on foreign investors to take advantage of opportunities in India’s energy sector.
“Our expanding energy sector is creating new opportunities for investment and collaboration in India,” Modi said Monday in Bengaluru, Karnataka. “We are also working in mission mode to increase the consumption of natural gas in our energy mix by 2030. A target has been set to increase it by 6% to 15%.”
Puri further noted that India’s oil consumption has been at 5 million barrels per day for a long time. But there is room for local consumption to grow alongside the country’s economic growth, he added.
“If the economy is growing at 6.5%, 7% and our consumption is growing three times the world average, then you won’t be looking at 5 million barrels. But 6 or 6 and a half million barrels,” he said. , acknowledging that it is still uncertain when that will happen.
China and India increased their purchases of Russian oil following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, benefiting from reduced rates.
India sees its oil purchase from Russia in a different light, the oil minister has said. He described a hypothetical scenario that if the global oil supply were to be disrupted, it could lead to a massive increase in oil prices.
“Can you imagine a situation, [where] Iranian oil is sanctioned, Russia has problems, Venezuela cannot supply its oil. Then the price of oil won’t be $200 – it will be $480,” Puri said, stressing that the Indian government doesn’t care where the supply comes from, including Russia.
