Oil sans Russia
India’s confidence in navigating a potential cut-off in Russian oil supplies due to looming secondary sanctions reflects not only geopolitical pragmatism but also the hard lessons of energy security learned over decades. At a time when Western powers are tightening the screws on Moscow, India’s Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri has projected a calm assurance that the country can weather disruptions – an assertion that deserves closer inspection. To begin with, India’s heavy reliance on Russian crude, which currently accounts for about 35 per cent of its oil imports, is a relatively recent development catalyzed by post-Ukraine war discounts and flexible payment terms. It is not built on deep strategic alignment but rather short-term economic advantage. That distinction matters when evaluating India’s ability and willingness to pivot away from Moscow if the cost of association becomes too high. Mr. Puri’s statement that India now sources oil from around 40 countries – up from 27 ~ indicates a proactive diversification strategy already in motion. Emerging suppliers like Guyana, and consistent players such as Brazil and Canada, expand India’s import cushion. The plan to intensify domestic exploration and production further enhances its capacity to offset disruptions, though in the short term this remains a modest component of total supply. India’s private refiners have also proven nimble in optimising their sourcing strategies to global price signals, making the import ecosystem more adaptive than a centrally regulated system. India’s diplomatic posture – emphasising “prevailing global circumstances” and warning against “double standards” ~ is a subtle reminder to the West that energy needs in the Global South cannot be viewed through the same normative lens as transatlantic sanctions regimes. India’s refusal to be boxed into one camp or the other is not an act of defiance but a strategic assertion of autonomy. India’s energy calculus also considers long-term consumption trends. With demand projected to rise steadily for the next two decades, building flexible, multi-origin supply chains is not just a crisis response ~ it’s a structural necessity. This balancing act is not without precedent. During the Cold War, India skillfully maneuvered between superpowers to secure economic and defence interests. Today, with energy being the lifeline of its $3.7 trillion economy and aspirations for high growth, the stakes are even higher. It is also significant that the fallback plan, as articulated by Indian Oil Corporation’s chairman, is a return to pre-Ukraine supply patterns ~ when Russian oil constituted less than 2 per cent of imports.
Trump tariffs push Asia toward American LNG at the cost of climate goals
Asian countries are offering to buy more US liquefied natural gas in negotiations with the Trump administration as a way to alleviate tensions over U.S. trade deficits and forestall higher tariffs. Analysts warn that strategy could undermine those countries’ long-term climate ambitions and energy security. Buying more US LNG has topped the list of concessions Asian countries have offered in talks with Washington over President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs on foreign goods. Vietnam’s Prime Minister underlined the need to buy more of the super-chilled fuel in a government meeting, and the government signed a deal in May with an American company to develop a gas import hub. JERA, Japan’s largest power generator, signed new 20-year contracts last month to purchase up to 5.5 million metric tons of U.S. gas annually starting around 2030. US efforts to sell more LNG to Asia predate the Trump administration, but they’ve gained momentum with his intense push to win trade deals. Liquefied natural gas, or LNG, is natural gas cooled to a liquid form for easy storage and transport that is used as a fuel for transport, residential cooking and heating and industrial processes. Trump discussed cooperation on a $44 billion Alaska LNG project with South Korea, prompting a visit by officials to the site in June. The US president has promoted the project as a way to supply gas from Alaska’s vast North Slope to a liquefication plant at Nikiski in south-central Alaska, with an eye largely on exports to Asian countries while bypassing the Panama Canal Thailand has offered to commit to a long-term deal for American fuel and shown interest in the same Alaska project to build a nearly 810-mile (1,300-kilometer) pipeline that would funnel gas from The Philippines is also considering importing gas from Alaska while India is mulling a plan to scrap import taxes on US energy shipments to help narrow its trade surplus with Washington. “Trump has put pressure on a seeming plethora of Asian trading partners to buy more U.S. LNG,” said Tim Daiss, at the APAC Energy Consultancy, pointing out that Japan had agreed to buy more despite being so “awash in the fuel” that it was being forced to cancel projects and contracts to offload the excess to Asia’s growing economies. “Not good for Southeast Asia’s sustainability goals,” he said.
Russia Sanctions: EU Restrictions On Russian Oil Could Hit India’s $15 Billion Fuel Exports; ‘Will Have To Walk A Fine Line…
Russian oil sanctions by the European Union could dent India’s $15 billion fuel exports, the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) has warned. The EU’s 27 member states have introduced their 18th sanctions package against Russia, primarily targeting the oil and energy sector revenues. From an Indian standpoint, the biggest takeaway is that these new sanctions also apply to imports of petroleum products refined from Russian crude oil in any third nation. India imports crude oil from Russia in a big way and then exports it globally. “Although India continues to engage in legitimate trade with Russia, the political optics of such transactions are shifting in Western capitals. As energy ties deepen, India will have to walk a fine line between economic pragmatism and geopolitical pressure,” Srivastava said. Nayara Energy and Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) are expected to encounter challenges due to the European Union’s latest sanctions against Russian oil. The EU has lowered the Russian oil price cap from $60 to $47.6 per barrel and introduced restrictions on vessels transporting Russian oil. These measures will become effective September 3.
PNGRB Price Order: Regulator Tells CGD Firms To Charge One PNG Rate; Warns Against Misuse Of Subsidised Gas
India’s petroleum regulator has directed city gas distributors to charge a uniform rate for piped natural gas (PNG) supplied to household kitchens, regardless of usage volume. The move comes amid concerns that a tiered pricing system adopted by some firms may be encouraging misuse of subsidised gas and leading to unfair charges for genuine consumers. In a recent notice, the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) said it had observed that “certain city gas distribution (CGD) entities are implementing a telescopic pricing structure for PNG domestic consumers, wherein the per SCM (Standard Cubic Metre) price of natural gas escalates as consumption surpasses a predefined threshold.” As per news agency PTI, the regulator called the practice “incorrect” and said such pricing “may inadvertently facilitate the unauthorised use of subsidised administered price mechanism (APM) gas by commercial consumers, who may be misclassified as domestic consumers.” Natural gas allocated under APM is priced lower than market rates and is meant strictly for households and transport use. Commercial users such as restaurants and hotels are required to buy gas at market rates. PNGRB said that CGD firms are allocated APM gas “at a concessional rate compared to market or spot LNG prices” to promote wider adoption of cleaner fuel.