India will ramp up energy supplies from US, Puri says

India will potentially increase its energy imports from the US, India’s petroleum and natural gas minister Hardeep Singh Puri said on Tuesday at a conference organized by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (Siam).

The statement comes as US President Donald Trump pushes for expanded domestic oil and gas production.

“If you were to ask me whether more American energy is going to come on to the market, my answer is yes,” Puri said. “If you say there is a potent possibility of more purchase of energy between India and the US, the answer is yes.”

The US is already one of the major oil and gas suppliers to India.

Trump plans to use his country’s vast energy resources and aims to increase domestic manufacturing.

“The inflation crisis (in the US) was caused by massive overspending and escalating energy prices, and that is why today I will also declare a national energy emergency. We will drill, baby, drill,” the president vowed in his inaugural address.

“America will be a manufacturing nation once again, and we have something that no other manufacturing nation will ever have, the largest amount of oil and gas of any country on earth. And we are going to use it,” Trump said.

India’s enthusiasm for the increased supply is clear.

“More US energy coming into the market is welcome,” Puri said, while noting that the global oil market is not facing a shortage.

While India currently imports a significant portion of its crude oil from Russia, Puri highlighted the potential for additional energy purchases from the US.

Last month, India imported just 44,633 barrels of oil per day from the US, accounting for 1% of its total imports.

This was a sharp decline of 78% from November, when imports from the US stood at 207,223 barrels per day. Despite this, Russia remained India’s primary supplier, providing 31% of the nation’s total crude oil imports.

The shift in the global oil market comes at a time when sanctions on Russia have raised concerns about tighter oil supplies.

Last year, more than a third of India’s oil imports were from Russia, but the increasing energy output from the US could give New Delhi an alternative as it seeks to diversify its supply sources.