Government sources on Friday said India’s legitimate energy transactions should not be politicized and a country self-sufficient in crude or importing it from Russia cannot credibly advocate restrictive trade.
He said India has to focus on competitive energy sources and it welcomes proposals from all oil producers as geopolitical developments posed significant challenges to the country’s energy security.
The strong defense of India’s oil imports from Russia comes amid growing unease among some Western powers over New Delhi’s signal to accept the Russian offer to sell crude at much cheaper rates.
Russia has proposed to India and several other countries when the United States banned all Russian oil and gas imports in response to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine last week.
A source said, “India will have to focus on competitive energy sources. We welcome such offers from all producers. Indian traders also work in global energy markets to find out the best options.”
Sources said the jump in oil prices after the Ukraine conflict has added to India’s challenges and the pressure for competitive sourcing has naturally increased.
“Oil self-reliant countries or countries importing themselves from Russia cannot advocate restrictive trade. India’s legitimate energy transactions should not be politicised,” the source said.
Indian Oil Corporation reportedly bought 30 lakh (30 lakh) barrels of Russian crude oil at a discounted price last week.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Tuesday that India’s acceptance of the Russian offer of subsidized crude would not violate US sanctions on Moscow, but underlined that countries “where you want to stand” amid Russia’s aggression “You should also think about it. Ukraine.
A spokesman for British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Wednesday that the United Kingdom wants every country to turn away from using Russian oil and gas as it funds President Vladimir Putin’s war machine.
Government sources cited above said Russia has been a modest supplier of crude to India and it is less than one per cent of the country’s requirement, adding that there is no government-to-government arrangement for imports.
Geopolitical developments have presented significant challenges to India’s energy security. For obvious reasons, the country has had to stop sourcing from Iran and Venezuela, and alternative sources often come at a higher cost, he said.
Sources said Russian oil and gas are being procured by various countries across the world, especially in Europe.
He said that 75 per cent of Russia’s total natural gas exports are to OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) member countries in Europe such as Germany, Italy and France.
He said countries like Netherlands, Italy, Poland, Finland, Lithuania and Romania are also major importers of Russian crude.
Recent Western sanctions on Russia have carved out an impact on energy imports from the country and its banks, which are the main channel for EU payments for Russian energy imports, according to SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications). has not been excluded. system, sources said.
India is highly dependent on imports to meet its energy requirements as about 85 per cent of its crude oil requirement (five million barrels per day) has to be imported.
Most of India’s imports come from West Asia (Iraq 23 percent, Saudi Arabia 18 percent, United Arab Emirates 11 percent), sources said, adding that the US has also now become an important crude oil source for India (7.3 percent).
Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said on Thursday that India as a major importer of oil looks at all options at all times.
He said in a media briefing, “India imports most of its oil requirements, it is met through imports. So we are always exploring all possibilities in the global energy markets because due to this situation we are facing import of our oil requirements. are doing.”
“Let me just highlight that many countries are doing this, especially in Europe, and for the time being, I will leave it there. We are a major oil importer and we are looking at all options at all points. We need energy,” he said.
This story has been published without modification in text from a wire agency feed. Only the title has been changed.
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