India is highly dependent on energy; the issue “should not be politicised”: Sources

"India's legitimate energy transactions should not be politicised," the source told 'Organiser', pointing out that India is highly dependent on imports for meeting its energy requirements. 

New Delhi: India has to keep focusing on competitive energy sources as it is highly dependent on imports for the same.

Countries with oil self-sufficiency or those importing themselves from Russia "cannot credibly advocate"  restrictive trading, those in the know of things say. It may be clarified that while there is no Government to Government contract on oil import from Russia, nearly one per cent of crude oil comes from that country to India.

"India's legitimate energy transactions should not be politicised," the source told 'Organiser', pointing out that India is highly dependent on imports for meeting its energy requirements. 

"Nearly 85 per cent of crude oil requirement (5 million barrels a day) has to be imported," the source said, adding most of New Delhi's imports are from West Asia (Iraq 23%, Saudi Arabia 18%, UAE 11%). 

Lately, of course, the United States has also become an important crude oil source for India; but it supplies only 7.3 per cent.  

Sources further said the imports from the US are expected to increase substantially in the current year. "It may probably touch around 11 per cent. Its market share will be eight percent," the source said.

It is being argued at the concerned levels that the "latest geopolitical developments" have posed significant challenges to India's energy security. 

"For obvious reasons, we have had to stop sourcing from Iran and Venezuela. Alternative sources have often come at a higher cost. The jump in oil prices after the Ukraine conflict has now added to our challenges," said the source.

The pressure for competitive sourcing has naturally increased.

"Russia has been a marginal supplier of crude oil to India (less than 1 per cent of our requirement, not among top  10 sources). There is no Govt-to-Government arrangement of import from Russia to India," the sources pointed out.

Of course, it is well that Russian oil/gas is being procured by various countries across the world, particularly Europe. 

It should be kept in mind that nearly 75 per cent of Russia's total natural gas exports are to OECD Europe (like Germany, Italy, France). European countries (like the Netherlands, Italy, Poland, Finland, Lithuania, Romania) are also large importers of Russian crude oil.

Notably, recent Western sanctions on Russia have carve-outs to avoid impact on energy imports from Russia. 

The Russian banks that are the main channels for European Union payments for Russian energy imports have not been excluded from SWIFT. The western nations know how to act cleverly and hide them too.

"India has to keep focusing on competitive energy sources. We welcome such offers from all producers. Indian traders too operate in global energy markets to explore best options," the source added.