India’s sharp reaction comes at a time when Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), the country’s top oil firm, has bought 3 million barrels of crude oil that Russia had offered at a steep discount on prevailing international rates.
Discounted crude oil from Russia: Oil-sufficient countries need not advise on Russian imports, says India
Underlining that India’s “legitimate energy transactions should not be politicised”, Delhi hit out Friday at the West, saying countries with “oil self-sufficiency or those importing themselves from Russia cannot credibly advocate restrictive trading”.
India’s sharp reaction comes at a time when Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), the country’s top oil firm, has bought 3 million barrels of crude oil that Russia had offered at a steep discount on prevailing international rates. The purchase, made through a trader, is the first since Russia’s February 24 invasion of Ukraine that led to international pressure to isolate the Putin administration.
Russian oil exports to India, the third largest energy consumer, quadrupled in March, Financial Times reported Friday.
Russia has so far exported 360,000 barrels of oil a day to India in March alone, nearly four times the 2021 average. The report cited Kpler, a commodities data and analytics firm, to say that Russia is on track to hit 203,000 barrels a day for the whole month, based on current shipment schedules.
Sources in Delhi said “countries with oil self-sufficiency or those importing themselves from Russia cannot credibly advocate restrictive trading. India’s legitimate energy transactions should not be politicised.”
India is highly dependent on imports for meeting its energy requirements. “Nearly 85 per cent of our crude oil requirement (5 million barrels a day) has to be imported,” a source said.
Source: https://indianexpress.com/article/india/discounted-crude-oil-from-russia-oil-sufficient-countries-need-not-advise-on-russian-imports-says-india-7826389/