India has never depended on permission from any country to purchase Russian oil, and the recent US sanctions waiver merely removes friction rather than shaping India’s energy policy, a senior government functionary said, according to PTI.
The remarks came after the United States announced a temporary 30-day waiver allowing Indian refiners to buy Russian oil cargoes amid the ongoing geopolitical tensions linked to the conflict with Iran.
“The US waiver of sanctions removes friction. It does not define India's policy, which is governed by the energy trilemma, affordability, availability and sustainability, for every Indian household,” the government functionary said.
Rejecting opposition criticism over the waiver, the official said India’s energy purchases are guided by national interest. “India will buy oil from wherever it is available. Our oil purchases will not be governed by any hollow slogans. India has never depended on permission from any country to buy Russian oil,” another senior government official said, as quoted by the agency.
The functionary also stressed that India’s fuel supply remains secure. “The message from the Centre to every Indian household is clear that the country's fuel supply is fully secure. The government is continuously monitoring the situation and will act, as it always has, in the interest of every citizen,” the official said.
India currently holds more than 250 million barrels of crude oil and refined products, equivalent to seven to eight weeks of buffer stocks, stored across strategic reserves, storage tanks, pipelines, terminal facilities and vessels already in transit to Indian ports, the official said. India now sources oil from around 40 countries, and domestic refineries continue to operate normally.
“No petrol pump has run dry in 12 years. What certain voices are calling a crisis is, in fact, the proof of preparation. India's energy governance has given us the insulation we need,” the functionary said.
Responding to opposition criticism, the official said the allegations lacked substance and suggested critics were focusing on selective language. “Clearly shows the opposition is unaware of how countries frame statements and use bombast keeping their domestic audiences and politics in mind.”
The official also pointed to a precedent during the previous Congress-led government, noting that India had adjusted crude imports under US sanctions earlier. In 2013, the US state department said India had reduced purchases of Iranian crude to qualify for sanctions exemptions under Section 1245 of the US national defense authorization act (NDAA).
Quoting then US secretary of state John Kerry, the official cited the statement: “I am pleased to announce that China, India, Malaysia, Republic of Korea, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Turkey, and Taiwan have again qualified for an exception to sanctions outlined in section 1245 of the national defense authorization act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2012…”
Officials said India’s supplier base has expanded from 27 countries to 40 over the past decade, which they said has helped maintain stable energy supplies even during global disruptions.
US treasury secretary Scott Bessent, on Friday, referred to India as a "very good actor" for previously complying with Washington’s request to halt purchases of sanctioned Russian oil and said the temporary measure would help ease supply pressures in the global market.
Speaking to Fox Business, Bessent said the decision was intended to ease short-term supply constraints during the ongoing crisis. "The world is very well supplied in oil. The Treasury (Department) agreed to let our allies in India start buying Russian oil that was already on the water," Bessent said.
"The Indians had been very good actors. We had asked them to stop buying sanctioned Russian oil this fall. They did. They were going to substitute it with US oil," he said."
But to ease the temporary gap of oil around the world, we have given them permission to accept the Russian oil. We may unsanction other Russian oil," he added.
Bessent also noted that a large volume of sanctioned crude remains stranded at sea stating that, "There are hundreds of millions of sanctioned barrels of sanctioned crude on the water," he said, adding that "by unsanctioning them, Treasury can create supply."
"And we are looking at that. We are going to keep a cadence of announcing measures to bring relief to the market during this conflict," he added.