Russia plans to step-up energy supply to India – Will it offset Middle East volatility?

NEW DELHI: Russia has offered to increase its supply of crude oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) to India as the ongoing Middle East crisis adds volatility to the global energy market, reported PTI citing officials familiar with the discussions. The energy cooperation formed a key part of talks on Thursday between Russia’s first deputy prime minister Denis Manturov and national security advisor Ajit Doval, external affairs minister S Jaishankar, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. A Russian readout of Manturov’s engagements in New Delhi said, “Denis Manturov confirmed that Russian companies have the capacity to steadily increase supplies of oil and liquefied natural gas to the Indian market,” as quoted by the agency.The comments come amid disruptions in crude oil and gas shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital corridor between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman that handles roughly 20% of global oil and LNG exports. India sources a significant portion of its energy from the Middle East.The disruption has seen energy prices go up across the region, including cost of commercial LPG, air-turbine fuel (ATF), premium petrol in the India. The disruption hit gas sector much harder as India imports over 60% of it LPG consumption and of it about 90% comes through Strait of Hormuz. Since the beginning of conflict, to cushion consumers from the supply disruptions government has ensured an over 100% production capacity operations by all refineries in country, and has also diversified sourcing of oil and gas. During the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation (IRIGC-TEC), co-chaired by Manturov and Jaishankar, the two sides discussed expanding bilateral trade, investment, and industrial cooperation. The Russian readout said, “Specific steps were discussed to create favorable conditions for increasing bilateral trade turnover in the present context.”Manturov also highlighted Russia’s support on fertilizers, noting that supplies to India increased by 40% by the end of 2025, with further deliveries planned to meet India’s needs.The ministry of external affairs said the talks covered a wide range of areas, including trade, industry, energy, fertilizers, connectivity, mobility, technology, innovation, critical minerals, and civil nuclear energy. On the latter, the Russian statement noted, “Russia sees significant prospects for deepening engagement with India in this sphere.”The discussions also reviewed progress on the implementation of outcomes from the 23rd India-Russia Annual Summit held in December 2025, when Russian president Vladimir Putin visited India. The summit had unveiled a five-year roadmap to strengthen economic partnership and raise annual bilateral trade to USD 100 billion by 2030.Jaishankar and Manturov exchanged views on regional and global developments, including the conflict in the Middle East, the MEA added.