India defends importing Russian oil

India said its energy needs are enormous with daily consumption of around 5 million barrels, defending that a sudden halt on Russian oil would hurt the country’s citizens. 

“Indian Energy companies have been sourcing energy supplies from Russia, on a sustained basis, over the past several years. Yearly figures may have varied due to a variety of reasons, including operational necessities,” the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas said.

 “If suddenly, now, as a huge importer of crude oil, India pulls back on its diversified sources, concentrating on the remaining, in an already constrained market, it will lead to further volatility and instability, jacking up international prices,” the ministry added.

“Despite attempts to portray it otherwise, energy purchases from Russia remain miniscule in comparison to India’s total consumption,” the ministry added. 

India has bought more than twice as much oil from Russia since Ukraine’s invasion compared to what it has brought  the whole of 2021. The country said that European countries has been buying Russian oil as well, adding that it is only one of the few crude it imports.

“India’s legitimate energy transactions cannot be politicized. Energy flows are yet to be sanctioned,” the ministry said, adding that journalistic pieces reporting  a need to ban Russian oil are “intended to increase their own readership.”