State-owned ONGC Chairman AK Singh declares: ‘India to buy every available drop of Russian oil as long as it's economical'

India’s state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) group refiners will continue to buy and process every available drop of Russian crude as long as it makes economic and commercial sense, and there is no pressure to curtail oil imports from Russia amid US rhetoric and tariff action, energy major’s chairman Arun Kumar Singh declared on Friday.

- S VENKAT NARAYAN

Speaking to reporters, Singh said that there is no sanction on Russian oil and unless the government decides otherwise, ONGC group refiners Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) and Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals (MRPL)-are free to buy crude from Russia “As long as it is economical, we will keep buying every drop (of Russian oil) that comes to the market,” Singh said.

Together, HPCL and MRPL have a combined refining capacity of around 40 million tonnes per annum (mtpa). Additionally, HPCL has an 11.3-mtpa joint-venture refinery with Mittal Energy. India’s total refining capacity stands at 258 mtpa.

Indian refiners' hefty imports of Russian crude have surfaced as a major irritant for the Trump administration.

Earlier in August, Trump announced an additional 25 per cent tariff over and above the 25 per cent tariff announced on Indian goods as a penalty for India's Russian oil imports.