India’s decision to buy Russian oil during a period of global economic uncertainty prevented a steep rise in international oil prices, said Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri.
Speaking at the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference (ADIPEC) on Thursday, Puri said, “If the Indian government hadn’t bought Russian oil, the global oil price would have gone up to $200 for everyone. ”
“By 2026, when more energy is available in the market, As a student of the situation, I think that the likelihood of prices remaining stable and coming down are higher”, Puri said.
Regarding India’s decision to reduce Russian oil imports by approximately 10% in October, Puri said that the shift was a result of competitive pricing in the global oil market. “There are other suppliers offering competitive rates, and the OPEC position doesn’t involve price negotiations. Healthy competition is underway, and if one source is unavailable, there are always alternatives,” he added.
On being questioned whether the reduction in Russian oil imports was a strategic decision, Puri said, “When we faced February 22, there were 13 million barrels of Russian oil suddenly available. If India had stopped purchasing and shifted its 5 million barrels to Gulf suppliers, global oil prices would have surged to $200 per barrel,” Puri explained. “I think we did everybody a favor.”
In his post on X, Puri reiterated that India’s decision to buy Russian oil had been beneficial to the global market. He pointed out that Russian oil was never under formal sanctions—only subject to a price cap, which Indian companies adhered to. “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,” Puri said.
Puri also took a moment to respond to critics who sought to impose restrictions on India’s oil purchases.
“Some ill-informed commentators have talked about restricting India, but many European and Asian countries have also bought significant amounts of crude oil, diesel, LNG, and rare earth minerals from Russia,” he said. “We will continue to buy energy from whoever offers the best rates to our oil companies.”
Puri also said in a post on X, that India’s primary concern remains the steady availability, affordability, and sustainability of energy for its citizens. “We need to ensure these priorities for our 70 crore citizens who visit a petrol pump every day. That’s our top priority,” he said. He also highlighted India’s remarkable achievement in reducing fuel prices over the past three years, in contrast to rising energy costs in other nations.
(ANI)