As US President Donald Trump threatens new tariffs on India if New Delhi doesn’t cut back on Russian oil, a report has claimed that the Petroleum Ministry's Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) has sought weekly information on Russian and US oil imports from the country’s refiners.
"We could raise tariffs on India if they don't help on the Russian oil issue," Trump said on board Air Force One on Sunday. He quickly praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi, stating he was a very good man. “They wanted to make me happy, basically... PM Modi's a very good man. He's a good guy. He knew I was not happy. It was important to make me happy. They do trade, and we can raise tariffs on them very quickly," Trump added.
Trump’s statement comes amid markets expecting fluctuation after the US capture of Nicolas Maduro, the President of Venezuela, a major OPEC nation.
Amid this, a report by Reuters said the Centre was asking refiners for weekly disclosures of Russian and U.S. oil purchases. The report also quoted sources that claimed the Russian crude imports could dip below 1 million barrels per day as New Delhi seeks to clinch a trade deal with Washington. “We want timely and accurate data on Russian and U.S. oil imports so that, when the U.S. asks for information, we can provide verified figures instead of them relying on secondary sources," said one of the sources.
Interestingly, this is the first time that the government has sought such information from refiners on a weekly basis.
The report also quoted two unnamed sources who said refiners, however, have not been expressly instructed to cut Russian oil purchases. However, they expect imports to average below 1 million bpd in the coming months.
Stricter U.S. and European Union sanctions have already slowed Russian oil flows to India, which fell to a three-year low of about 1.2 million bpd in December, according to sources and analytics firm Kpler.
