'Looking at diverse sources to meet India's energy security'

India said on Thursday its crude oil procurement is guided by the objective of securing “affordable energy from diverse sources” to ensure energy security, amid indications that refiners are gradually reducing the uptake of subsidised Russian energy and eyeing greater imports of oil and gas from the US.

- Rezaul H Laskar

Randhir Jaiswal

With President Donald Trump focused on efforts to end the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, India has faced renewed pressure from the US and its European allies to cut down on Russian oil purchases, especially after American sanctions hit Russian energy majors Rosneft and Lukoil, which were among the main suppliers for Indian refiners.

“Our position on the larger question of energy sourcing is well known. In this endeavour, we are guided by the imperative to secure affordable energy from diverse sources to meet the energy security needs of our 1.4 billion people,” external affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said at a weekly media briefing.

Jaiswal said the Indian side is studying the implications of recent US sanctions on Russian oil companies. “Our decisions naturally take into account the evolving dynamics of the global market.”