No US pressure on importing Russian crude oil: H S Puri

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The Union Minister also clarified that there is no immediate plan to increase ethanol blending on petrol from the current 20%

By BL New Delhi Bureau

Updated - October 27, 2026 at 07:14 PM. | New Delh

Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri | Photo Credit: ANI

Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said on Tuesday that there is no pressure from the United States on India to reduce its crude oil imports from Russia.

“I never felt anything,” Puri said responding to a media query at an industry event in Goa.

Asked again later on US pressure, the Minister said emphasised “Do you know your Prime Minister. Do you think his mind is wired to feel pressure? This is a government committed to the welfare of its people and energy supplies.”

Puri also clarified that there is no immediate plan to increase ethanol blending on petrol from the current level of 20 per cent.

“In so far as biofuels are concerned, yes, the 20 per cent (ethanol blending) was the target and there is no desire, just now, to increase by more than 20 per cent,” he stressed. 

Engine Damage

The Minister said that misinformation was being spread about the ethanol blended petrol (EBP) programme.

On questions regarding engine damage due to the E20 fuel, Puri said “Six crore vehicles go to the dispensing stations every day. If engine damage was caused, you could have seen the vehicles all over the place”.

On lessons from the West Asia conflict, the Minister said that India’s experience during the crisis demonstrated that while geopolitical disruptions cannot always be anticipated, their impact can be minimised through advance preparedness and coordinated action.

“A crisis is not something that you can anticipate. But without anticipating the nature of a crisis, or the specifics of the manner in which it unfolds, you can always start preparing yourself,” he added.

LPG Increase

He noted that domestic liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) production rose from 34,000 tonnes per day (TPD) to 55,000 TPD with imports from the US and Algeria helping offset West Asia supply shocks.

“Today, we are importing 67 per cent of our LPG from the US,” he said, adding that India is also sourcing the key cooking fuel from African countries such as Algeria.

Published on October 27, 2026

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