India’s strategic decision to purchase oil from Russia amidst global uncertainties played a pivotal role in preventing a potential surge in global oil prices, according to Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri. During an interview with CNN’s Becky Anderson in Abu Dhabi, Minister Puri emphasized that India’s oil purchases from Russia acted as a buffer against an otherwise drastic price hike. He asserted that had India not bought Russian oil, global oil prices could have skyrocketed to $200 per barrel, impacting consumers worldwide.
“Oil will remain a key part of the world’s energy supply for years to come,” Puri stated, underscoring the importance of securing reliable energy sources. He expressed optimism about future oil price trends, noting that “by 2026, when more energy is available in the market, the likelihood of prices remaining stable and coming down are higher.”
Addressing the reduction in Indian oil imports from Russia in October, Minister Puri attributed it to competitive oil rates in the market. He explained that other suppliers were offering comparable prices, making the market more competitive. “There are other people willing to supply at the same competitive rate because the OPEC position is they don’t deal with price. There’s healthy competition going on. If you don’t get it from one, you get it from someone else,” he said.
When questioned about the strategic implications of the reduction in Russian oil imports, Minister Puri emphasized the market-driven nature of the decision. He pointed out that in February 2022, when the conflict in Ukraine began, there was a sudden influx of 13 million barrels of Russian oil in the market. “If that oil had gone off the market and India had decided to shift its 5 million barrels to say suppliers in the Gulf, the price of oil would have gone up to 200 a barrel. So I think we did everybody a favour,” he asserted.
Minister Puri further elaborated on India’s oil purchases from Russia via his X account. “India did the entire world a favor by buying Russian oil because if we had not done so, the global oil prices would have skyrocketed to USD 200/barrel. Russian oil was never under any sanctions and there was only a price cap, which Indian entities also followed.” He also highlighted the hypocrisy of some commentators who criticized India while overlooking the substantial oil and other resources purchased by European and Asian nations from Russia.
“Let us not forget that while some ill-informed commentators talked about putting restrictions on India, many other European and Asian nations bought much more crude oil, diesel, LNG, rare earth minerals worth billions of dollars from Russia,” he wrote.
Minister Puri emphasized India’s commitment to ensuring affordable and sustainable energy access for its citizens. “We need to ensure steady availability, affordability, and sustainability of energy for our 7 crore citizens who visit a petrol pump every day. That’s our top priority.”
India, the world’s third-largest oil consumer and importer, purchased $2.8 billion worth of crude oil from Russia in July 2023, according to a report by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA). This represented a significant increase, with Russian oil imports making up nearly 40% of India’s total oil purchases, compared to less than 1% in the pre-Ukraine war period.
