{"id":15294,"date":"2025-08-30T10:05:03","date_gmt":"2025-08-30T10:05:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/roydadnaft.ir\/English\/?p=15294"},"modified":"2025-08-30T10:05:03","modified_gmt":"2025-08-30T10:05:03","slug":"ongc-group-refiners-will-buy-every-available-drop-of-russian-oil-as-long-as-economical-says-chairman-ak-singh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/roydadnaft.ir\/English\/15294\/","title":{"rendered":"ONGC group refiners will buy every available drop of Russian oil as long as economical, says chairman AK Singh"},"content":{"rendered":"

RoydadNaft – <\/a><\/span>\u00a0New Delhi has called the targeting of India over the purchase of Russian oil \u201cunjustified and unreasonable\u201d and said these imports began as its traditional supplies were diverted to Europe, with the US having \u201cactively encouraged such imports by India for strengthening global energy markets stability\u201d.<\/p>\n

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 , the government-owned energy major\u2019s chairman Arun Kumar Singh said Friday.<\/div>\n

\u201cAs long as it is economical, we will keep buying every drop (of Russian oil) that comes to the market,\u201d Singh said.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s total refining capacity stands at 258 mtpa.<\/p>\n

Indian refiners\u2019 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\u2014over and above the 25 per cent tariff announced on Indian goods\u2014as a penalty for India\u2019s Russian oil imports.<\/p>\n

New Delhi has called the targeting of India over the purchase of Russian oil \u201cunjustified and unreasonable\u201d and said these imports began as its traditional supplies were diverted to Europe, with the US having \u201cactively encouraged such imports by India for strengthening global energy markets stability\u201d.<\/p>\n

India\u2019s public sector refiners have not received any directive or indication from the government with respect to their Russian oil imports, and their strategy on buying Moscow\u2019s crude continues to be dictated by economic and commercial considerations. The Indian government continues to maintain that the country will buy oil from wherever it gets the best deal, as long as the oil is not under sanctions. Russian oil is not under sanctions, and is only subject to a price cap imposed by the US and its allies that applies if Western shipping and insurance services are used for transporting the oil.<\/p>\n

The renewed pressure from the US and other Western powers\u2014pressuring India to cut down on imports from Russia\u2014is evidently aimed at forcing the Kremlin\u2019s hand into ending the Ukraine war. For Trump, who wants the three-year-old Russia-Ukraine war to end within days, this is an opportune time to pressure India over its Russian imports, given the long-drawn-out trade pact negotiations between New Delhi and Washington have been hit by impediments. Russia is currently the largest source of crude for India, accounting for 35-40 per cent of New Delhi\u2019s oil imports. Notably, while Trump has slapped additional tariffs on India as a \u201cpenalty\u201d for buying Russian crude, it has not taken any such action so far against China\u2014the top buyer of Moscow\u2019s oil.<\/p>\n

When Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Moscow\u2019s share in New Delhi\u2019s oil imports was less than 2 per cent. With much of the West shunning Russian crude following the invasion, Russia began offering discounts on its oil to willing buyers. Indian refiners were quick to avail the opportunity, leading to Russia\u2014earlier a peripheral supplier of oil to India\u2014emerging as India\u2019s biggest source of crude within a matter of months, displacing the traditional West Asian suppliers. Notably, India was encouraged by the US to buy more of Russian oil as Washington did not want that oil to go off the market, as that would have led to a surge in energy prices globally.<\/p>\n

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