OIL-RUSSIA/INDIA – REUTERS Agency
June 17 (Reuters) – Russia could account for almost a third of India’s oil imports by the end of this fiscal year, Arun Kumar Singh, director of India’s Oil and Natural Gas Corp Ltd, told the Russian news agency on Saturday. Interfax.
“The share of Russian oil imports, which was less than 2% in 2021/2022, has increased 10-fold,” Singh told a panel at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. The level could reach 30% by the end of the 2023/24 financial year, he added.
“Then guaranteed trade between the two countries will grow further and Russia will have an important role to play in ensuring India’s energy security.”
Russia has been redirecting its energy supplies from Western countries, which have imposed restrictions and sanctions on trade with Moscow, including a cap on the price of oil, after its invasion of Ukraine. China and India buy most of the diverted Russian energy.
Purchases of Russian oil by India, the world’s third-largest crude importer, reached a record high in May as buyers stuffed themselves with discounted supplies. This reduced demand for oil from the Middle East and Africa, according to preliminary assessments by ship trackers. (Reuters report)
Source: Ambito
