RIYADH: India is seeking to conclude economic partnerships with countries in the Middle East, as the region will remain a major oil supplier for the Asian country for a long time, the minister of petroleum and natural gas told Asharq.
Hardeep Singh Puri added that the Middle East region is a source of over half of New Delhi’s oil needs.
“We are currently studying extending a long-term contract with Qatar to purchase gas that ends in 2028,” he said.
“We are also discussing with the UAE the conclusion of more investment partnerships, and with Saudi Aramco we are discussing several projects, including establishing a large refining facility in India to meet local requirements.”
Of the 5 million barrels of oil that New Delhi needs, 3 million come from the Middle East, with India getting between 800,000 to 1 million barrels per day from Saudi Arabia, 1 million barrels from Iraq, and almost the same amount from the UAE.
India has emerged as a major buyer of Russian oil in the wake of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, as it seized millions of barrels of low-priced crude that Europe and the US had rejected.
