India’s procurement of Russian crude oil is shaped by the shifting dynamics of the global oil market, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Thursday.
MEA spokesperson Randheer Jaiswal said, “We are studying the implications of the recent US sanctions on Russian oil companies. Our decisions naturally take into account the evolving dynamics of the global market. Our position on the larger question of energy sourcing is well known.”
“India is guided by the imperative to secure affordable energy from diverse sources to meet the energy security needs of our 1.4 billion people,” the MEA spokesperson said, indicating flexibility in its approach notwithstanding pressure.
It is understood that some of the Indian refiners may look into Russian oil from sources which are not sanctioned. MEA has emphasised that India and Russia relationship is an important one and they are continuing to work in various areas.
US President Donald Trump has once again claimed that India had significantly reduced its purchases of Russian oil, noting that New Delhi had been “very good” on the issue.
However, Trump said that the US has little to do with China’s purchase of Russian oil, noting that “it takes care of a big part of China”.
An India-bound tanker carrying Russian crude oil has abruptly reversed course in the Baltic Sea, raising concerns over possible disruptions in oil trade between India and Russia, news agency Bloomberg reported on Wednesday.
According to the report, the vessel, identified as ‘Furia’, had loaded about 730,000 barrels of Urals crude from Russia’s Primorsk port and initially indicated India’s Sikka port in Gujarat as its destination. However, after reaching the Fehmarn Belt between Denmark and Germany, the tanker turned around and later updated its destination to Port Said in Egypt, according to the Bloomberg report.
Since the Ukraine war, India has emerged as one of the largest buyers of Russian crude, benefiting from deep discounts that helped lower its import bill and improve refining margins. A disruption in this supply chain could force refiners to source costlier alternatives from the Middle East, Africa, or Latin America, raising input costs and potentially affecting profit margins.
