NEW DELHI: India has decided not to purchase liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Russia’s Arctic LNG 2 project, which is under Western sanctions, said petroleum and natural gas Secretary Pankaj Jain on Friday.
This decision comes after the UK, US, and European Union imposed sanctions on Arctic LNG 2 earlier this year due to Russia’s ongoing conflict with Ukraine.
The project, owned by Russia’s Novatek, aims to produce nearly 20 million tonne of LNG annually, primarily for Asian markets, with potential revenues in billions of dollars.
“We will not buy (from) Arctic LNG 2. We are not buying any sanctioned commodity. Something which has broad-based sanctions, we are not touching it,” Jain said. In response to media allegations about Novatek’s involvement in establishing and managing a “shadow fleet” for the Arctic LNG 2 project, the company has denied the claims.
Since the invasion of Ukraine, India has increased trade with Russia, including purchase of oil. Before the invasion, Russian oil accounted for less than 2% of India’s imports, but this figure surged significantly.
In July 2024, Russian oil comprised 44% of India’s oil imports, making India the world’s largest importer of Russian oil. However, in August 2024, imports from Russia fell to 36% of total imports.
Despite this decrease, Russia remained India’s top oil supplier in August, followed by Iraq and Saudi Arabia. India, world’s third-largest oil importer and consumer, imported 4.7 million barrels per day (bpd) of oil in August, 1% decrease from July. Imports of Saudi Arabian oil fell to their lowest level since July 2023.