State-run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) on Friday said that it will continue to buy every drop of Russian oil as long as it is commercially viable.
“There are no sanctions on Russian oil as of now. We will continue to buy unless the government decides otherwise,” said Arun Kumar Singh, chairman, ONGC.
The company’s statement comes at a time when the country is facing additional 25% tariffs for buying Russian oil above the existing 25% tariffs.
ONGC two units buys Russian oil
The company’s two units, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) and Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals, regularly buy Russian oil for their refineries.
The country’s largest E&P company also plans to increase its domestic production in the current fiscal and has 21 projects underway with an estimated cost of around Rs 66,000 crore. Of these, nine are development projects and the remaining are infrastructure-related projects.
The company also said that it will look to acquire energy assets overseas if they come at a reasonable price for ONGC.
ONGC plans to invest in LNG and upstream assets in the US
Rajarshi Gupta, managing director, ONGC Videsh, had also earlier said that the company is looking to invest in the LNG and upstream assets in the US. He added that the company is scouting for more greenfield and brownfield assets in several other geographies, including Latin America, Africa and West Asia.
“We are looking for the right assets in the US. We have three projects in Russia, but we are also looking at other geographies,” he said, while naming Latin America and Africa, which he said “have huge potential,” being rich in minerals.
Singh expects crude oil prices to remain in the range of around $60 per barrel in the near term.