Russia offers to scale up crude, LNG supplies to India

With the West Asia crisis continuing to drive volatility in the global energy market, Russia has offered to increase supply of crude oil and natural gas to India even as the two sides agreed to further enhance the overall bilateral ties.

The energy cooperation figured prominently in meetings Russia’s First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov held with National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday, people familiar with the matter said.

Manturov also held talks with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi last evening.

A Russian readout of the First Deputy Prime Minister’s engagements in New Delhi said special attention was accorded to bilateral cooperation in the oil and gas sector.

“Manturov confirmed that Russian companies have the capacity to steadily increase supplies of oil and liquefied natural gas to the Indian market,” it said.

The comments came as the West Asia crisis continued to put strain on global energy market largely due to disruptions in supplies of crude oil and gas through the Strait of Hormuz.

Global oil and gas prices have surged after Iran virtually blocked the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow shipping lane between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman that handles roughly 20 per cent of global oil and LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas). West Asia has been a major source of India’s energy procurement.

Various issues relating to bilateral ties were deliberated extensively at the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation (IRIGC-TEC). It was co-chaired by Manturov and Jaishankar.

Expanding mutually beneficial trade, investment and industrial cooperation was one of the key topics on the agenda, the Russian readout said.

“Specific steps were discussed to create favourable conditions for increasing bilateral trade turnover in the present context,” it said.

Manturov noted that Russia increased supplies of fertilisers to India by 40 per cent by the end of 2025 and was ready to continue meeting India’s needs, it said.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said both sides held wide ranging discussions focusing on trade, industry, energy, fertilisers, connectivity and mobility in addition to new opportunities in technology, innovation and critical minerals.

The two sides also reviewed the progress on the implementation of the various outcomes of the 23rd India Russia Annual Summit held in December last year, it said.