September 26 (Siliguri Chronicle) – India has suggested that the US allow crude oil imports from Iran and Venezuela if Washington goes ahead with its plan to curb Russian supplies.
The proposal came up during a bilateral meeting between US officials and an Indian delegation, sources told Bloomberg. Indian representatives argued that restricting crude flows from Russia, Iran, and Venezuela at the same time — all key producers — could drive global prices higher.
India is currently paying a 25 per cent penal tariff on Russian crude, pushing the overall duty burden on its merchandise exports to 50 per cent. In a bid to ease the pressure, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and other officials travelled to the US for talks aimed at securing a trade deal and reducing tariffs.
Goyal said earlier this week in New York that India is open to increasing its purchases of American oil and gas, adding that “our energy security goals will have a very high element of US involvement.”
US energy secretary Chris Wright also described India as an ‘awesome ally’, saying “I’m a huge fan of India; we love India. We look forward to more energy trade, more interactions back and forth with India,” he said.
However, he made it clear that the Trump administration would not permit purchases of Russian oil.
“Of course, we wish India would work with us to buy — you can buy oil from every nation on the earth, just not Russian oil. That’s our position. America has oil to sell, but so does everybody else. We don’t want to punish India. We want to end the war, and we want to grow our relations with India,” he said.
Russia has been selling crude at a discount after many countries stopped trading with Moscow over the war in Ukraine. For India — which relies on imports for nearly 90 per cent of its oil needs — cheaper Russian barrels have been crucial in easing its import bill. Crude from Iran and Venezuela would likely offer similar discounts.
India halted Iranian oil purchases in 2019, while Reliance Industries Ltd., the country’s biggest private refiner, stopped importing Venezuelan crude earlier this year as US sanctions tightened. Refiners could turn to Middle Eastern suppliers instead, but those barrels are costlier and would push up the overall import bill.
Indian refiners paid an average of $68.90 a barrel for Russian crude in July, well below the $77.50 paid for Saudi oil and $74.20 for US supplies, commerce ministry data shows.
India is now the biggest buyer of Russian crude shipped by sea, while China leads overall purchases when pipeline deliveries are included.
Looking ahead, the oil market is expected to swing into a major surplus next year as OPEC+ and other producers ramp up output — a move that could drive global crude prices lower.
