India in discussion to raise oil imports from Brazil: Hardeep Singh Puri

Sep 20,2024

India is in discussions with Brazil to raise oil imports, Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri said on Friday. Puri met with the President of Petrobras, Magda Chambriard in Brasília to strengthen bilateral energy ties between India and Brazil.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Puri shared that the two discussed increasing crude oil purchases between Petrobras and Indian energy companies, as well as exploring collaboration opportunities in offshore deep and ultra-deep-water exploration projects.

“We discussed steps to further enhance crude oil purchases between Petrobras and Indian energy companies and opportunities to collaborate in India & Brazil, especially in offshore deep/ ultra-deep-water exploration and production projects. We also discussed the way forward to better monetise our investments in Brazil,” the minister said.

“Brazil is one of the world’s largest agricultural producers and the global pioneer in biofuels such as ethanol & vegetable oil-derived biodiesel. India and Brazil will also work in development of sustainable aviation fuels and take forward the agenda of Global Biofuels Alliance in Brazil’s G20 presidency. I also invited her to participate in India Energy Week being organised in Delhi from Feb 11 to 14, 2025,” he said.

India’s push for energy diversification

India, the world’s third-largest importer of crude oil, has been actively seeking to diversify its energy imports, particularly in light of the ongoing geopolitical tensions like the Russia-Ukraine war. In line with this strategy, Indian oil companies — Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL), Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL), and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL)—have been in negotiations with Petrobras for long-term crude oil supply contracts as earlier reported by Business Standard.