Brent crude has risen 22% this year to nearly $95 per barrel. Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent Western sanctions on Moscow have stirred up the market.
Digital Desk: Higher crude prices,
according to Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, will only expedite the transition
to cleaner energy and worsen any global recession.
"If you raise the price from here, the only response will
be a deeper and longer recession," Hardeep Singh Puri told Bloomberg TV at
the Adipec energy conference in Abu Dhabi. "It's in their interest not to
let it go beyond," he said, referring to producers.
India is one of the
world's largest crude importers, with significant purchases from Persian Gulf
countries such as the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Iraq. Unlike the US, it has not
publicly criticized the OPEC+ cartel's decision to cut output beginning in
November.
Consequences
Brent
crude has risen 22% this year to nearly $95 per barrel. Russia's invasion of
Ukraine and the subsequent Western sanctions on Moscow have stirred up the
market.
"This is not a game
in which you should be overly concerned," said Hardeep Singh Puri, who had
previously spoken on a panel with his Saudi and Emirati counterparts.
"These are sovereign decisions. Anyone with the ability to produce or sell
has the right to do so. But we also tell them, and I've made a point of
emphasizing this, that every action has consequences, both intended and
unintended."
According to him, one unintended consequence is the investment
of "billions of dollars" in electric vehicles and lithium, a key
component of EV batteries.
"Interesting things are happening," he said.
"That will benefit us. We will not tolerate energy shortages. If one
source fails, we will switch to a different one", he added.
India will look into any
G-7 price cap on Russian oil, according to Hardeep Singh Puri, without going
into further detail. Most analysts believe that India and China, which have
increased their purchases of Russian crude since the Ukrainian invasion, will
disregard a US proposal to limit what buyers pay for Russian crude flows. Both
New Delhi and Beijing already import a large portion of the oil they obtain
from Russia at a significant discount..
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