Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Hardeep Singh Puri, informed the Rajya Sabha on Monday that in the last three financial years, India imported less than 1 per cent crude oil from Russia.
Responding to a question raised by Shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi, Puri said, "In the last three financial years, we imported less than 1 per cent crude oil from Russia, and in the first nine months of this fiscal, only 0.2 per cent of our oil requirement has been imported from Russia."
Puri also said that India imported 7.3 per cent of its oil requirement from the United States. He asserted that India and the US have a strong bilateral energy relationship.
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The minister also highlighted the fact that they are currently in talks with some western oil firms.
He said that Indian oil companies have invested in Russia, which has been very profitable -- $337 million investment has resulted in $3.7 billion revenue -- and another 20 years remain.
Puri said that India has company to company crude import arrangements as well as government to government deal with Russia.
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The minister further said that out of the five million barrels per day consumption, 60 per cent crude oil comes from the Gulf countries, while India has imported only 0.419 million metric tonnes of crude oil from Russia which is less than 1 per cent.
Earlier on March 14, Puri had stated in the Rajya Sabha that the Centre cut petrol and diesel rates last year when they were most required by the consumers.
