India has welcomed competitive offers from all energy producers amid growing energy security challenges in the country. After Russia’s attack on Ukraine, oil prices have increased worldwide. India’s troubles have also increased due to this. In such a situation, the Indian government can buy cheaper crude oil from countries like Russia. A person aware of the decision of the Government of India gave this information on the condition of anonymity.
Russia is giving discount
Russia has decided to give crude oil and some other products to India at a discount rate after the sanctions imposed by the US and allies. After Russia’s attack on Ukraine, many types of sanctions have been imposed on it by European countries. In such a situation, European companies are not buying oil from Russia.
India is a big importer
India, the third largest energy consumer, imports oil from Russia. According to the report of the Financial Times, this import has quadrupled in March compared to the previous time. Russia has so far exported 360,000 barrels of oil to India in March. If we look at the average of the year 2021, then it is four times. The report cited a commodities and analytics firm Kepler. According to this, according to the shipment schedule, Russia is on the way to export 203,000 barrels per day of oil to India this entire month.
Energy security a big challenge
According to a person with knowledge of the matter, the challenges to our energy security have increased in the challenging global situation. At the same time, due to US sanctions, we cannot import oil from Iran and Venezuela. In such a situation, India will have to keep an eye on other competitive energy sources. We welcome such offers from all producers. Indian traders doing business in the global energy market are also looking for the best options. This person further said that India’s legitimate energy transactions should not be politicised. He said that getting energy from other alternative sources would be costly.
heavy dependence on imports
This person told that India is dependent on imports to meet its energy needs. Of this requirement, 85 percent of crude oil, which is about 5 million barrels per day, is imported. Most of it comes from Western countries, with 23 percent from Iraq, 18 percent from Saudi Arabia and 11 percent from the UAE. In such a situation, if Russia is that country, then less than one percent of India’s requirement of crude oil exports. It does not even figure in the top 10 of the countries that supply energy to India. Not only this, there is no arrangement for import between the governments of both the countries.
Restrictions on the one hand, imports on the other
At this time America and Western countries are pressurizing India to take strong steps on Ukraine Crisis. On the other hand, European countries are buying oil and gas from Russia on a large scale. About 75 per cent of Russia’s exports go to European countries that are members of the OECD. These countries are Germany, Italy and France. At the same time, many other European countries such as the Netherlands, Poland, Finland, Lithuania and Romania are also major buyers of Russian crude oil.