Russia offers to increase supply of crude oil, LNG to India amid war in West Asia

With the West Asia crisis continuing to drive volatility in the global energy market, Russia has offered to increase supply of crude oil and natural gas to India even as the two countries agreed to further enhance overall bilateral ties.

The energy cooperation figured prominently in meetings Russia’s First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov held with National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Thursday (April 2, 2026), sources told PTI.

Mr. Manturov also held talks with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday.

A Russian readout of the First Deputy Prime Minister’s engagements in New Delhi said special attention was accorded to bilateral cooperation in the oil and gas sector. “Denis Manturov confirmed that Russian companies have the capacity to steadily increase supplies of oil and liquefied natural gas to the Indian market,” it said.

The comments came as the the West Asia crisis continued to put strain on the global energy market largely due to disruptions in supplies of crude oil and gas through the volatile Strait of Hormuz.

Global oil and gas prices have surged after Iran virtually blocked the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow shipping lane between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, that handles roughly 20% of global oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG). West Asia is a major source of India’s energy procurement.

An analysis by The Hindu of data from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry shows that India imported $1.98 billion worth of crude oil from Russia in January 2026, the month before India and the U.S. issued a joint statement about an interim trade agreement between the two countries.

With this, Russia’s share in Indian oil imports fell to 19.3% in January 2026, the lowest since December 2022. For context, Russia’s share was 27.5% two months earlier, and 33% in May 2025.

On February 7, when the U.S. and India announced the interim agreement, the statement notably did not have any mention of India’s imports of Russian oil. However, the trade agreement is yet to be implemented.

Since the onset of the U.S-Israel war with Iran that began on February 28, India has been steadily increasing its purchase of crude oil from Russia.

Various issues relating to bilateral ties were deliberated extensively at the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation (IRIGC-TEC) on Thursday. It was co-chaired by Mr. Manturov and Mr. Jaishankar.

Expanding mutually beneficial trade, investment, and industrial cooperation was one of the key topics on the agenda, the Russian readout said. “Specific steps were discussed to create favorable conditions for increasing bilateral trade turnover in the present context,” it said.

Mr. Manturov noted that Russia increased supplies of fertilisers to India by 40% by end of 2025 and is ready to continue meeting India’s needs, it said.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said both sides held wide-ranging discussions focusing on trade, industry, energy, fertilisers, connectivity and mobility in addition to new opportunities in technology, innovation and critical minerals.

Both countries also reviewed the progress on the implementation of the various outcomes of the 23rd India-Russia Annual Summit held in December last year, the MEA said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin visited India for the summit. Following the summit talks between Mr. Modi and Mr. Putin, India and Russia unveiled a raft of measures, including a five-year roadmap to build a robust economic partnership and to increase the annual trade to $100 billion by 2030.

Mr. Jaishankar and Mr. Manturov also exchanged views on regional and global developments, including the conflict in West Asia, the MEA said.

The Russian readout also mentioned bilateral cooperation in the civil nuclear energy sector. “As emphasised by Denis Manturov, Russia sees significant prospects for deepening engagement with India in this sphere,” it said.