Livemint | India mulling over oil purchase from Guyana in long-term deal

Jan 12,2023

At a time of volatility in the energy markets due to geo-political situations, India is exploring a long-term oil deal with Guyana. In a statement on Thursday, the Union government informed that the Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Hardeep Singh Puri, and the President of Guyana Mohammad Irfaan Ali discussed government-to-government cooperation in Guyana's hydrocarbons sector.

The statement came out after Union Minister met with Guyana's President on Thursday. It also added that India is looking towards participating in the oil and gas exploration sector of the South American nation.

The move is seen in coherence with India's efforts to diversify its oil imports to manage global volatility in a much better way.

In December last year, Russia replaced Iraq as the top supplier of oil for India, accounting for almost one-fourth of India's oil imports. After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the western countries led by the United States imposed several sanctions against Russia, restricting its trade with the world. India was also attacked at multilateral levels for purchasing Russian oil at discounted rates.

India also chose to stay out of the price cap which Western countries imposed on Russian oil. Union Minister of External Affairs, S. Jaishankar said that India was not consulted in the decision on the price cap and the country will never sign into what others have cooked up.

On Tuesday, Union Minister for Coal and Petroleum also spoke on the vision of India for the energy sector. The country is aiming to contribute 25% of global fuel demand by 2040 and it targets to achieve 20% ethanol blending in petrol by 2025.

The minister also provided information on the rollout of E20 fuel which constitutes 20% Ethanol and 80% fossil fuel.

“The E20 fuel is a 20% blend of ethanol and 80% of fossil-based fuel. The planned introduction of E20 fuel aims to reduce the reliance on fossil-based fuels and to reduce vehicular emissions," the minister said.