Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Hardeep Singh Puri, on Saturday said that the government has expanded India’s crude import basket from 27 to over 40 countries and opened up 99% of the nation’s offshore area for oil and gas exploration.
The move, the minister said, is part of a four-pronged strategy aimed at building “a future where energy is secure, affordable, and sustainable.”
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He outlined four key pillars of India’s energy journey — diversification of crude imports, innovation, expansion of domestic oil and gas exploration, and a clean energy transition.
The latter, he noted, is reflected in the Green Hydrogen Mission and the 10.60 crore Ujjwala beneficiary families who have gained access to subsidised LPG as clean cooking fuel, replacing firewood and dung cakes.
Taking to the social media platform X, Minister Puri wrote, “Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, Bharat is building a cleaner, stronger, and self-sufficient energy future.”
Puri also recalled that India’s diversification of crude sourcing has played a crucial role in stabilising global prices. “India’s oil purchases from Moscow played an important role in preventing a sharp spike in global prices,” he said, adding that crude oil prices could have soared to $130 per barrel without the India-Russia oil trade during the onset of the Ukraine war in 2022.
Before the war, India imported only 0.2% of its crude oil requirements from Russia, a figure that now stands at close to 40%.
Earlier this week, Minister Puri held discussions with Brazil’s Vice President and Minister of Development, Industry, Trade and Services, Geraldo Alckmin, to strengthen the expanding energy partnership between India and Brazil.
He said the meeting focused on deepening energy cooperation between the two nations under the dynamic leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
