New Delhi: The government on Tuesday said that India is open to importing energy from all the sources at cheaper rates. The announcement comes at a time when India seeks to secure more natural gas and oil supplies to meet its growing energy demand in the country, which is expected to rise in the coming years. In the wake of the ongoing geopolitical tensions and sanctions imposed on Russia by the United States, many experts, however, are concerned about the impact on India’s energy supplies. Speaking at the Indian Energy Week 2025, oil petroleum minister Hardeep Sing Puri highlighted the country’s efforts to ensure a stable energy supply, allaying concerns over the potential impact of US sanctions on energy imports from Russia. “India continues to diversify its energy sources and the country remains open to importing energy from all available sources at the lowest rates,” the minister said.In January, Washington imposed fresh sanctions targeting Russia’s oil supply chain, causing tanker freight rates to soar as some buyers and ports in China and India steered clear of sanctioned ships. However, Pavel Sorokin, Russia’s first deputy energy minister, assured that the US sanctions on Russia should not affect Moscow’s oil trade with India and said that it was too early to assess the impact of the latest restrictions.India became the top buyer of Russian sea-borne oil sold at a discount after Western nations imposed sanctions on Moscow and curtailed their energy purchases in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. “Our relationship with India is based on economic pragmatism,” Sorokin said at the IEW conference, adding, “We believe energy trade shouldn’t be hindered by any politics.”Focussing on energy shifting, Puri also said that energy transition is not outright replacement (of any fuel) but more shifting the primacy of one energy source over another. “Developing nations like India meet most of the energy demand from fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas. While there is a call to shift from the polluting sources to renewables, India feels that move cannot be abrupt, with oil and gas as well as coal continuing to meet energy demand in the period when the cleaner sources are scaled up,” he said.“The very notion of ‘energy transition’ requires a nuanced understanding. It is not an outright replacement, but more shifting the primacy of one energy source over another,” he said. The transition isn’t about eliminating hydrocarbons overnight but leveraging them strategically while scaling renewables to mitigate emissions. Even when renewables become the dominant energy sources, oil and gas will continue to play a pivotal role, not just in power generation but in stabilising grids, industrial hydrogen, and energy storage innovations,” the minister said.Puri further said that energy justice must shape the new energy order. “One thing has become absolutely clear to all stakeholders. Energy justice must remain at the core of the imminent transformation. A fragmented transition risks deepening inequality, leaving billions without reliable energy while wealthier nations surge ahead. If the transition is not just, it will not succeed because the political economy will not allow it,” he said.“I don’t think anyone here would disagree with me when I say that the last few years – encapsulated in the whirlwind events of 2024 – have left the global energy order in transition. These include major geopolitical shifts. Nobody can say, with any degree of certainty, what the new framework for global energy markets will look like. But we can be sure that it is going to be transforming at breakneck speed, driven by forces that are both accelerating and colliding,” he added.Puri said the world is witnessing a recalibration of strategy, prioritising near-term profitability while keeping long-term transition efforts in play. “Before anyone accuses me of ignoring our environmental obligations, I must state that the primary focus remains on increasing the adoption of biofuels, renewables, and hydrogen,” he said adding that the IEA estimated that global energy investment was going to exceed $3 trillion for the first time in 2024, with $2 trillion going to clean energy technologies and infrastructure.Climate change, he said, is no longer a looming threat. It is unfolding in many grave disasters, wildfires, floods, and record-breaking temperatures are clear reminders that the world is running out of time. “Three forces that will play a pivotal role in shaping the energy landscape in the coming years are new drivers of demand – artificial intelligence and clean cooking, balancing immediate challenges with long-term vision and resilient supply chains for an orderly transition,” he said.
Source link
