petroleum And Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said on Friday that if crude oil continues to be available from Russia at cheaper rates, India will continue purchasing it. Along with this, Puri said that the government is ‘committed’ to purchasing crude oil at the most affordable price. Puri said while talking to the media that if Russian oil is available at a good discount then India will continue to buy it. He said, “We used to buy less than 0.2 per cent of oil from Russia in February, 2022. Now we are buying 30 per cent of oil from Russia. If it is available at a good discount, we will buy it. If it is also available at a discount elsewhere If the rate is available, we will buy from there.”
There is no shortage of crude oil in the market
The minister said that India is not committed to buying any quantity from anyone and this commitment is only to buy energy at the most affordable price. “Fuel is available in abundance. Despite cutbacks by some producers, more and more crude is coming to the market,” he said. The minister said the government is ready to enter into both long-term and spot deals with oil producing countries. “We issue tenders at the time of import. This means if we need a particular route, we will issue a tender and then whoever can supply it will supply,” Puri said.
What will happen to Ratnagiri Refinery Project?
On the question regarding the refinery project in Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra, the Petroleum Minister said that this project is not practical due to its huge size (60 million tonnes per year capacity). Instead, the government is looking at the possibility of three refineries with a capacity of 20 million tonnes per year each. Ratnagiri Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (RRPCL) is a joint venture company of three public sector petroleum companies which was established in 2017.
india energy week
Puri said the third edition of the four-day ‘India Energy Week’ starting February 11 in the national capital will be the second largest energy event globally in terms of participation, exhibition space and discussion sessions. During this period, a green cookery ministerial meeting will also be organised. The meeting will focus on enhancing efforts to accelerate global adoption of green cooking solutions. There will be a special discussion on Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY). India Energy Week 2025 will see global participation from ministers, company executives and industry leaders. The event is expected to see a significant increase in scale and participation compared to previous editions. He said the number of conference sessions at the event will increase to 105 and the number of global delegates to more than 70,000.
(With inputs from PTI/Language)
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