India processing Russian oil is pragmatic decision: US

Washington, March 9 (IANS) Indian refineries processing Russian crude was a “pragmatic decision” taken to stabilise global energy markets and speed up supplies in Asia, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said.

Speaking on Fox News on Sunday (local time), Wright said the policy does not represent any shift in Washington’s sanctions stance toward Moscow but reflects the realities of oil supply chains in Asia amid geopolitical disruption.

“Russia’s oil remains sanctioned. There’s no change in policy towards Russia,” Wright asserted.

He explained that large volumes of Russian crude were currently stranded in Asian waters as supply routes adjusted to sanctions and market shifts.

“But there’s just a lot of tankers stacked up,” Wright said. “China doesn’t treat its discount gas station suppliers very well. They’re about to lose the second of three of them.”

As a result, significant quantities of crude were waiting offshore while Asian refineries looked for supply.

“So there’s a lot of Russian oil that’s just hanging out on the water in Asia, and it’s in Asia where the refineries are looking for oil,” Wright said.

Allowing India to process the crude would help move supplies through the market more quickly, he said.

“So we just made a pragmatic decision instead of waiting at the gas pump for another, you know, month or two to arrive in China, let’s pull that oil into Indian refineries right now,” Wright said.

India’s refining sector plays a critical role in regional fuel supply, he added.

“Because they supply not just the 1.4 billion Indians, but they export products to the region around there,” Wright said.

Wright rejected criticism that the move would ease pressure on Moscow during the ongoing conflict involving Russia.

“So it’s just a pragmatic decision. It’s no change in Russia, it just speeds up some sales that were gonna happen anyway,” he said.

The comments came as global energy markets reacted to instability around the Strait of Hormuz and fears of supply disruptions from the Gulf.

Wright said the US administration expects energy shipments through the strait to stabilise soon.

“The plan is to get oil and natural gas and fertiliser and all the products from the Gulf flowing through the straits,” he said.

He added that the surge in oil and fuel prices was driven more by market fears than actual shortages.

“Energy markets are massively well supplied right now,” Wright said. “The runup in prices has nothing to do with any shortage of barrels of oil or natural gas. It’s just fear and perception.”

Wright predicted that the current disruption in prices would be temporary.

“This is weeks and probably an outside case,” he said, adding that stabilisation would follow once tensions eased, and energy trade normalised.

The energy secretary also defended the administration’s broader strategy, describing President Donald Trump’s approach as an “energy dominance agenda” designed to boost supply and stabilise prices.

“The United States is a net exporter of oil net exporter of natural gas,” Wright said.

–IANS

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