The Indian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that India is open to buying oil from nations including Venezuela, depending on commercial viability.
“There is a history of engagement with Venezuela. We have a long-standing energy partnership with them, and we remain open to exploring options of availability of crude oil from Venezuela and other places, depending on its commercial viability,” Randhir Jaiswal said.
India to buy more oil from US
US President Donald Trump last week agreed to reduce tariffs on Indian goods to 18% from 50% as part of a broader trade deal and claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has assured him that India will stop buying Russian oil.
Trump also said India will buy more oil from the US and ‘potentially Venezuela’.
Modi, however, did not comment on India’s plan to halt Russian oil imports in his message welcoming the trade deal.
Oil diversification at the core
Jaiswal said ensuring the energy security of 1.4 billion Indians is the “supreme priority” of the government.
“Diversifying our energy sourcing in keeping with objective market conditions and evolving international dynamics is at the core of our strategy to ensure this. All of India’s actions are taken and will be taken with this in mind,” he said on India’s plans to halt Russian oil imports.
What happens if India stops buying Russian Oil- Moody’s explains
While Trump has said that India will stop buying Russian oil, a Moody’s report said that India is unlikely to immediately cease all crude oil purchases from Russia, as such a move could be disruptive to India’s economic growth.
Moody’s said that a complete shift toward non-Russian oil by India could tighten supply elsewhere, raise prices and pass through to higher inflation.