US President Donald Trump said that America has given India a temporary waiver of 30 days to buy oil from Russia. Its objective is to reduce the increasing pressure on India and the global energy market. Donald Trump said- ‘I am doing this just to reduce the pressure. We have plenty of oil. There is a huge amount of oil in our country. The move came a day after US Treasury Secretary Scott announced that the US Treasury Department would grant temporary permission to Indian refineries to buy oil from Russia.

This is the same Donald Trump who had entangled India in the web of tariffs for buying Russian oil and now America itself is requesting that India buy oil from Russia. The reason for this is nothing else but the failed oil diplomacy of America itself, the loss of which will have to be borne by no one but India. As soon as India started buying oil from Russia, Russian exporters increased the prices further. Russia knows that at this time there is no other way for the world to get oil, hence it is taking full advantage of this golden time.

Why is America asking India to buy Russian oil?

Donald Trump’s minister Scott Besant wrote on X – ‘To maintain global oil supply, the Treasury Department is giving 30-day temporary permission to Indian refiners to buy oil from Russia.’ He said that India is an important ally of America and it is expected that India will increase the purchase of American oil. Now Donald Trump has also commented on this and said that he is doing this only to reduce the pressure, America has a lot of oil. These steps are directly a temporary measure to reduce the global energy crisis caused by the Iran war.

Gulf of Hormuz closed, outcry over oil

1. On the ninth day of the war between Iran and Israel-America, the Strait of Hormuz has been closed. Because of this the global oil crisis has increased. The closure of the Gulf has caused oil prices to rise to around $92 per barrel, an increase of 10–15 per cent.
2. Oil transportation has fallen by approximately 70 to 100 percent and more than 150 oil tankers are stranded. Experts are warning that if the shutdown prolongs, oil prices could drop to $100 to $150 a barrel as exports from Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar are disrupted.
3. The supply of natural gas has also been affected. Qatar has halted production, even though 90 percent of LNG normally passes through the Strait of Hormuz. Asian countries such as China, Japan, India and South Korea have been most affected, as the region is responsible for about 17 percent of global LNG demand.
4. Refining facilities have also been affected by this. Saudi Arabia’s Ras Tanura factory has closed, a fire broke out in the UAE’s Fujairah and Iraq reduced oil production by about 1.5 million barrels per day. In such a situation, America wants India to buy oil from Russia to normalize the situation.

Russia took advantage, increased prices

This change is not a normal thing for India but it has brought a big economic problem. After the Corona epidemic, Russia’s cheap oil played a big role in handling the country’s economy and reducing the deficit, but now the situation is not the same. Now that Russia’s Urals oil has become costlier than the international rate and Brent crude itself has reached close to $92 per barrel, the pressure on petrol-diesel prices and the Indian rupee in the domestic market has increased a lot. Oil may be a little cheaper at Russia’s Baltic Harbour, but due to the long trip it will take through the Cape of Good Hope i.e. below Africa, the same oil will become many times more expensive by the time it reaches India. Indian refineries are turning to Russia to meet their needs, but Russia is also charging a premium by increasing prices.