According to India’s Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Russian crude is keeping global oil prices down.During India Energy Week, Hardeep Singh Puri told CNBC that if India started buying more Middle Eastern oil instead of Russian oil, oil prices would not be $75 or $76; they would be $150.
Indian oil companies will buy the cheapest crude available, regardless of politics, he said in response to criticism that their trade with Russia supports Moscow’s war in Ukraine.
As a result, discounted Russian barrels made up an all-time high among India’s crude imports last year, while Middle Eastern flows dropped to record lows.
Puri noted that the world is grateful to India for buying Russian oil.
As production cuts from the OPEC coalition fueled fears that india oil prices would eventually reach triple digits, crude markets experienced wild price swings in the second half of 2023. As a result of the Israel-Hamas war and attacks on oil shipping lanes, tensions increased.
However, the US’ blowout of crude production last year has dampened prices further due to falling demand and China’s slowdown. In fact, economists suggest that geopolitical turmoil is the only factor supporting current price levels — otherwise crude would stand at an estimated $70.
India’s imports have been affected by Western measures against Moscow, even though Puri dismissed the political undertones of trading with Russia.
As a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Indian refineries bought more Saudi oil in January, the minister blamed it on Moscow’s failure to comply with the $60 price cap on its exports.
At the time, Puri said, “When Russian prices do not conform, we buy from Iraq, the UAE, Saudi Arabia.”
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