After US President Donald Trump warned of possible sanctions on Russia, concerns about oil supply in India have increased. But Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri has clarified that India has enough options to buy oil and even if the supply from Russia is disrupted, the country’s energy needs can be met.
Trump’s warning on Russia
US President Donald Trump has said that if Russia does not sign a peace agreement with Ukraine in the next 50 days, strict sanctions will be imposed on countries buying Russian oil. This also includes countries like India and China. Trump has talked about imposing 100% tariff on Russian oil.
India’s preparation: Oil imports from 40 countries
Hardeep Singh Puri said in the Urja Varta 2025 program, “I am not worried. If something happens, we will deal with it.” He told that India now buys oil from 40 countries, whereas in 2007 this number was only 27. He said that countries like Guyana, Brazil and Canada are emerging as new options.
Before 2022, less than 2% of oil was imported from Russia
Before 2022, India used to import only 0.2% crude oil from Russia, but after the Ukraine war this figure increased rapidly and now it has reached about 40%. The role of private companies has been important in this change, especially Reliance Industries and Nayara Energy have purchased the most oil from Russia. Currently, Russia has become the largest country supplying oil to India. After this, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates (UAE) are among the other major oil supplier countries of India.
Indian Oil’s plan
Indian Oil Corporation Chairman AS Sahni said that if the supply from Russia is disrupted, they will return to the model before the Ukraine war, when imports from Russia were very low.