Moscow, Aug 21: External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar on Thursday said that India’s oil purchase from the US has been consistently increasing, as the August 27 deadline set by the Donald Trump administration to impose additional 25 per cent tariffs on India for buying Russian energy inches closer.
During a press briefing here, EAM Jaishankar said that India is not the biggest purchaser of Russian oil. “That is China. We are not the biggest purchasers of LNG; that is the European Union. We are not the country which has the biggest trade surge with Russia after 2022; I think there are some countries to the South,” the EAM emphasised.
He further stated that “We are a country where the Americans have said for the last few years that we should do everything to stabilise the world energy market, including buying oil from Russia”.
“Incidentally, we also buy oil from the US, and that amount has increased,” EAM Jaishankar told the media. The EAM said it is not only about oil, but India and Russia are “going forward” in looking at nuclear energy, greater market access, fertilisers, and labour mobility – something which he is “really very satisfied with”.
According to official figures, India’s oil and gas imports from the US have jumped by as much as 51 per cent from January to June this year. The country’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports from the US also nearly doubled to $2.46 billion in the financial year 2024-25 from $1.41 billion in 2023-24.
India has increased purchases of oil from the US, with Indian Oil Corporation, the country’s largest oil company, placing orders of around 2 million barrels of oil in August for October delivery. Indian Oil Corporation has bought another cargo of US crude in August for delivery in October. India also bought 2 million barrels per day of Russian oil in August against orders placed in June and July to replace purchases from Iraq due to geopolitical tensions in the region. The increase in Russian flow was at the cost of purchases from Iraq and Saudi Arabia, according to Kpler data.
Meanwhile, Deputy Ambassador of the Russian Federation to India, Roman Babushkin, on Wednesday reaffirmed that crude oil exports to India will remain steady despite the evolving global sanctions and trade pressures. The Deputy Ambassador highlighted that trade between the two countries has grown nearly sevenfold in recent years, with Russia supplying around 250 million tonnes of oil annually to India, offering an average discount of five per cent subject to negotiation.
IANS