27 Feb , 2022 By : Kanchan Joshi
Russia-Ukraine conflict: In the wake of escalating Russia-Ukraine conflict, the Government of India said that it is closely monitoring global energy markets as well as potential energy supply disruptions as a fall out of the evolving geopolitical situation.
The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas said in a statement said, "with a view to ensuring energy justice for its citizens and for just energy transition towards a net zero future, India stands ready to take appropriate action for ensuring ongoing supplies at stable prices."
The Ministry further said, "India is also committed to supporting initiatives for releases from Strategic Petroleum Reserves, for mitigating market volatility and calming the rise in crude oil prices." The government's statement came after crude oil prices surged above $100 a barrel this week for the first in more than seven years after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a military operation in Ukraine.
India's crude oil import bill is set to exceed USD 100 billion in the current fiscal year ending March 31, almost double its spending last year, as international oil prices trade at seven-year highs. India spent USD 94.3 billion in the first 10 months (April-January) of the ongoing financial year that started April 1, 2021, according to data from the oil ministry's Petroleum Planning & Analysis Cell (PPAC).
It spent USD 11.6 billion in January alone when oil prices had started to surge. This compared with USD 7.7 billion spending in the same month last year. In February, oil prices crossed USD 100 per barrel and going at this rate, India, which imports 85 per cent of its crude oil requirements, is expected to almost double its import bill to USD 110-115 billion by the end of the fiscal year 2021-2022.
The imported crude oil is turned into value-added products like petrol and diesel at oil refineries, before being sold to automobiles and other users. India has surplus refining capacity and it exports some petroleum products but is short on production of cooking gas LPG, which is imported from nations like Saudi Arabia.
0 Comment