Union minister assures no shortage of crude oil in India

New Delhi: Amid the Russia-Ukraine war, Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Hardeep Singh Puri on Tuesday said oil companies will determine the fuel prices, even as he said there will be no shortage of crude oil in the country.

Puri, however, said the government will take decisions in the best interest of citizens. "I assure you all that there will be no shortage of crude oil. We will make sure that our energy requirements are met, even though 85 per cent of our requirements are dependent on imports for crude oil and 50-55 per cent on gas," Puri said at a press conference here. He refuted the allegation that the fuel prices were reduced by the Centre earlier due to elections and the rates will be hiked again after the polls.

Puri said the Centre had reduced Rs5 per litre on petrol and Rs10 per litre on diesel last year, but young leaders said it was done because of the Assembly elections in five states, the results of which will be announced on March 10. He said people should take note of other conditions such as the Ukraine-Russia crisis to understand why the rates were hiked globally.