The majority of India’s crude oil supply in the foreseeable future, according to Hardeep Singh Puri, minister of petroleum and natural gas of India, will come from Gulf nations like Saudi Arabia and Iraq as it seeks a reliable and economical energy basis.
Since sanctions were placed against Moscow for what it refers to as a “special military operation” in Ukraine, Indian refiners have been buying up relatively inexpensive Russian oil, which Western companies and nations have spurned.

In April and May, India’s oil imports from Russia increased by 4.7 times or more than 400,000 barrels per day, but they decreased in July.

The world’s third-largest importer and user of crude oil saw an increase of almost 25 per cent in July due to Saudi Arabia lowering its official selling price in June and July compared to May. Saudi Arabia maintained its position as India’s third-largest supplier.
In an interview with Reuters on the sidelines of the Gastech conference in Milan, Puri stated, “As far as India is concerned, I see for the foreseeable future much of our crude oil supplies will be coming from Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Abu Dhabi, and Kuwait, among others.”

According to Puri, India’s purchases from Russia comprised only 0.2per cent of total sales by the end of the fiscal year on March 31, 2022. Still, they increased later as the global situation became “difficult.”

“Despite our recent increase in purchases, we still make a small portion of what Europe purchases from Russia. The consumers would be given electricity (not only) on a secure basis, but also on an economic basis, thanks to a democratically elected government like the one we have in India, “added he.