India will continue to buy reasonably priced Russian oil, according to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, because the country’s interests are paramount. “I’d prioritise my energy security.” Why shouldn’t I buy the petrol if it’s on deep discount?” Sitharaman made the remarks during the CNBC-TV18 India Business Leader Awards in Mumbai in 2022.
“We’ve started purchasing” (oil from Russia). We’ve gotten a lot of barrels. I estimate a supply of 3-4 days, and this will continue. “What is kept in mind is India’s overall interest,” Sitharaman added, referring to the controversial topic of buying oil from Russia amid the continuing conflict.
Despite the western sanctions on Moscow for its actions in Ukraine, what the finance minister said underlines New Delhi’s attitude on sustaining commerce with its long-time partner.
According to sources, Russia is offering to sell high-grade oil to India for up to $35 per barrel in the initial agreement, and India wants to buy 15 million barrels.
Sergey Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, met with Jaishankar and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday and stated Russia is eager to sell India anything it wants. Moscow is leaning toward conducting trade in national currencies with India and other countries willing to trade with Russia, he claimed, in order to avoid Western sanctions.
According to petroleum minister Hardeep Singh Puri, India bought about 419,000 tonne of crude oil from Russia in the first ten months of FY22, accounting for just 0.2 percent of its overall imports of 175.9 million tonne. In FY21, India purchased 633,000 tonne (0.3 percent of total imports) from Russia, up from 2.93 million tonne (1.3 percent of total imports) in the pre-pandemic year of FY20.
