Speaking at the FIPI Oil and Gas Awards Ceremony, the minister highlighted the dramatic shift in India's oil sourcing over the past two years
New Delhi will have a variety of supply choices in the next few months at competitive rates from Russia, Iraq, Saudi Arabia
India surpassed China's July oil imports from Russia of 1.76 million bpd via pipelines and shipments, based on Chinese customs data
Nayara Energy and Reliance Industries have already signed term deals for Russian oil imports
Growth in Asia's third-largest economy likely slowed to an annual 6.7 per cent in January-March, more in line with the long-term GDP growth rate
Russian imports accounted for 39% of India's overall crude imports last year from 16% in 2022
IOC is the only state refiner that has an annual deal to buy a variety of Russian grades, including Sokol, from Russian oil major Rosneft. Sokol oil is supplied to IOC by Sakhalin-1 LLC
India spent $157.5 billion on importing 232.7 million tonnes of crude oil with West Asia contributing 58% of all supplies
Lower global demand and discounts on Russian crude to ensure continuous oil flows
Indian refiners also cut shipments from Iraq, another top supplier, by 10% on the month in August to 848,000 barrels a day
India's overall imports also declined 5.2% from June to 4.4 million bpd oil in July, the data showed, as several refining plants are shut for maintenance during monsoon season
With Urals crude prices on the rise, refiners are negotiating for bigger discounts and alternative currencies for payment
The drop in sunflower oil imports would force the world's biggest buyer of vegetable oils to increase purchases of palm oil and soyoil to compensate
OPEC members mainly from the Middle East and Africa, saw their share of India's oil market slide to 59% in the fiscal year to March 2023, from about 72% in 2021-22
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said that India's share in the global oil demand is expected to increase to 11 per cent, while the gas demand is expected to rise up to 500 per cent.
India's oil imports from Russia rose for the fifth straight month, totaling 908,000 barrels per day (bpd) in November, up 4% from October, the data showed
Fear of worsening economic slowdown in China has dealt the latest blow to global crude oil, with daily prices falling to their lowest since January 4, 2022
The US has been putting increasing pressure on India to distance itself from Russia
Iran used to be the second-largest oil supplier to India but New Delhi had to halt imports from Tehran after former U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew from the nuclear deal with Iran
India's imports of oil from Iraq surged in January to a 29-month high of about 1.3 million bpd, making up nearly a third of the supplies to India, says data from shipping and industry sources.