Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri addressed the recent reduction in India's oil imports from Russia, emphasizing that the decline is attributed to unattractive prices rather than payment issues. The clarification comes as India witnessed a dip in oil imports from Russia to an 11-month low in December.

Puri emphasized that there is no payment problem and clarified that the decrease in imports is solely based on the price considerations for refineries. He pointed out that India's leadership is committed to ensuring that consumers receive energy at the most economical price without disruptions. On average, India purchases 1.5 million barrels per day of Russian oil, and there have been no complaints from oil companies regarding payment settlement issues for oil imports.

The decline in imports is partially linked to the diversion of five ships carrying oil to alternative locations. This diversion occurred after the United States imposed sanctions on specific vessels and shippers for not adhering to the G7-fixed $60 per barrel price caps for oil at Russian ports.

Puri highlighted that Russia needs to offer competitive discounts for India to continue buying from them. He mentioned that new oil producers in distant regions are willing to provide better discounts than Russia on crude sales, though specific details about these new suppliers were not disclosed.

India, being the world's third-largest oil importer and consumer, significantly relies on sea-borne Russian oil at a discount, especially after the withdrawal of Western entities following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Puri assured that global oil markets have sufficient supply, and there are no anticipated constraints on availability.