Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on July 17, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 22, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleIndia is prepared to secure oil from alternative sources if Russian imports face sanctions, says Oil Minister Puri. The country has diversified its oil supply to about 40 countries.
By Nidhi Verma
NEW DELHI (Reuters) -India is confident of meeting its oil needs from alternative sources if Russian supplies are hit by secondary sanctions, Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said on Thursday.
Earlier this week, U.S. President Donald Trump warned that countries purchasing Russian exports could face sanctions if Moscow fails to reach a peace agreement with Ukraine within 50 days.
India should be able to deal with any problems with Russian imports by seeking supplies from other countries, Puri said. He noted there are many new suppliers coming onto the market such as Guyana and supply from existing producers such as Brazil and Canada.
Additionally, India is increasing exploration and production activities.
"I'm not worried at all. If something happens, we'll deal with it," Puri said at an industry event in New Delhi.
"India has diversified the sources of supply and we have gone, I think, from about 27 countries that we used to buy from to about 40 countries now," he said.
India's oil imports from Russia rose marginally in the first half of this year, with private refiners Reliance Industries Ltd and Nayara Energy making about half of the overall purchases from Moscow.
Russia continued to be the top supplier to India, accounting for about 35% of India's overall supplies, followed by Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates, the data showed.
In case Russian supplies are hit, Indian Oil Corp will "go back to the same template (of supplies) as was used pre-Ukraine crisis when Russian supplies to India were below 2%," company Chairman A.S. Sahney told reporters at the event.
(Reporting by Nidhi Verma in New Delhi, and Anuran Sadhu in Bengaluru; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)
India is confident it can meet its oil needs from alternative sources if Russian supplies are affected by sanctions. Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri mentioned that India has diversified its suppliers from about 27 to 40 countries.
Russia accounts for about 35% of India's overall oil supplies, making it the top supplier, followed by Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.
India is increasing exploration and production activities to secure its oil supply. The country is also looking to new suppliers entering the market, such as Guyana.
Puri expressed confidence in India's ability to manage any disruptions, stating, 'I'm not worried at all. If something happens, we'll deal with it.'
In the first half of the year, Indian private refiners like Reliance Industries Ltd and Nayara Energy accounted for about half of the overall oil purchases from Russia.
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