Moneycontrol | Will buy oil from Russia, have moral duty to my consumer: Petroleum Minister Hardeep Puri

Sep 07,2022

Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on September 7 said New Delhi will buy oil from Russia if required, as the government has a "moral duty" to safeguard the interests of the citizens.

"We will buy (oil) from Russia. We will buy from wherever...I have a moral duty to my consumer. Does a democratically elected government want a situation where the petroleum pumps run dry? Look at what is happening in countries around India," Puri said, while speaking to CNBC in Milan, on the sidelines of the Gastech Conference.

Puri's remarks came in response to being asked whether India would support the Group of Seven's (G7) planned move to impose a cap on the price of Russian oil which is aimed at limiting the Kremlin's revenues and ability to fund its war in Ukraine.

"What will the (G7) proposal mean? We will look at very carefully -- who will be its participants and what will be the implications, etc," the minister said.

Puri pointed out that Russian oil accounted for only 0.2 percent of India's total oil imports in the fiscal year period ending on March 31, 2022. "Europeans buy more in one afternoon than India buys in a quarter," the minister added.

The bulk of India's crude oil purchase is from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Iraq and Kuwait, Puri noted.

The proposed price cap on Russian oil was announced by G7 finance ministers on September 2. In a statement issued by Germany, which chairs the G7 this year, the ministers said they “confirm our joint political intention to finalize and implement a comprehensive prohibition of services which enable maritime transportation of Russian-origin crude oil and petroleum products globally.”

Providing those services “would only be allowed if the oil and petroleum products are purchased at or below a price ('the price cap') determined by the broad coalition of countries adhering to and implementing the price cap," they added.

The statement, however, did not give any proposed figure for a potential price cap and also did not specify when the G7 aims to finalise the plan. It said that “we invite all countries to provide input on the price cap's design and to implement this important measure,” calling for a “broad coalition in order to maximize effectiveness.”