India won’t flinch on Russian oil. That was the unmistakable message from Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, who declared that New Delhi will buy crude “from wherever we have to”, despite mounting Western scrutiny.
“I don’t feel any pressure in my mind. And I don’t think my boss’s mind is wired to feel pressure either — that’s where I draw my strength,” Puri told journalist Palki Sharma at a recent event, brushing off concerns about India’s deepening oil trade with Moscow.
In 2022, as Russian tanks rolled into Ukraine, India sourced just 2% of its crude from Russia. Today, that figure has soared. But, Puri argued, so has diversification: India now imports oil from around 40 countries, up from 27. “The prime minister’s commitment is to the Indian consumer,” he said. “That policy has served us well.”
The minister laid out the stakes bluntly. With Russia producing 9 million barrels a day — 10% of global output — removing it from the equation would trigger chaos. “You either cut global consumption by 10% — no heating in winter, no AC in summer — or prices explode,” he said. “We estimated oil could have hit $130 or $140 a barrel.”
He pushed back on the moral high ground claimed by some Western nations, citing data: Turkey bought 26% of Russia’s oil product exports, China 13%, and Brazil 12%. The EU, despite its tough rhetoric, was the top buyer of Russian LNG and pipeline gas.
On sanctions, Puri was unapologetic. “Russian oil was never sanctioned — it was subject to a price cap. And I’m happy to buy under a price cap. It gets me cheaper oil.”
He recalled a call with Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar ahead of a U.S. visit: “I told him — they buy more in an afternoon than I do in a quarter.”
What if sanctions tighten? Puri shrugged it off. “If something happens, we’ll deal with it. When one door closes, another opens.”
With new suppliers emerging in the Western Hemisphere and India ramping up domestic exploration, Puri was confident. “The price of oil will come down — not by luck, but because there’s more oil in the market,” he said.
