NEW DELHI, Nov 24 (Reuters) – India, the world’s third largest oil import, hopes to transform the present international oil challenges from the Ukraine disaster into a chance to safe reasonably priced vitality, Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri mentioned on Thursday, a day after the European Union didn’t agree on a Russian oil value cap.

India, which hardly ever used to purchase Russian oil due to expensive logistics, has emerged as Russia’s second largest oil shopper after China as some Western entities shunned Moscow purchases following its February invasion of Ukraine.

“At this time, the worry is not about from where we will get energy,” Puri mentioned at a broadcaster Times Now summit. “It is a global challenge but we have and we will convert this into an opportunity. And I don’t foresee any difficulty in procuring energy and securing at affordable prices.”

The United States has stopped shopping for Russian vitality and European nations will halt Russian crude and refined product imports from Dec. 5 and Feb. 5, respectively.

The Group of Seven nations, together with the United States, in addition to the European Union and Australia, are planning to implement a likely price cap of $65 to $70 a barrel on sea-borne Russian oil exports from Dec. 5.

Some Indian refiners are already getting Russian oil at beneath or close to the prices cap levels.

The West has exempted Russian oil provides through pipelines to Hungary and China, and exports from Sakhalin-2 initiatives to Japan. “So the question arises that on whom this price cap will be imposed, if these three large exemptions are there,” Puri mentioned, indicating that the mechanism is geared toward provides to India.

Puri, nonetheless, mentioned he was not involved about disruption to grease provides post-Dec. 5, including that India has been quickly diversifying its crude sources and will purchase extra oil from the United States, Guyana and different nations within the coming years.

Reporting by Nidhi Verma; Editing by Josie Kao

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