Govt allays fears of oil short supply

New Delhi: Oil minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Monday allayed fears of short supply of crude oil amid the Russia-Ukraine conflict and said that crude oil imports from Russia are miniscule at just 0.2 per cent of total such imports till January this fiscal.

"About the increased oil import concerns, we require total of five million barrels per day. Sixty per cent of it comes from Gulf. We have imported from Russia, just 0.419 million metric tones that is 0.2 per cent of total requirement (during April-January this fiscal)," Puri said in the Rajya Sabha, while replying to a supplementary to a starred question. "We are monitoring the situation.

As far as oil imports are concerned from Russia, contrary to what played up in media, it is miniscule," the minister said.

According to the written reply tabled in the House, in financial year 2020-21, India imported 85 per cent of its crude oil requirements and 54 per cent of its natural gas requirement. According to Petroleum Planning & Analysis Cell (PPAC), India's major sources of crude oil imports are Iraq, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Nigeria and the US.