West's cap on Russian oil: no anxieties, says petroleum minister

New Delhi: After the West proposed cap on Russian oil, it would not cut its shipping availability for Indian imports, Union petroleum minister Hardeep Puri assured on Wednesday, stating that there is no need for anxiety.

When asked about the cap, he said, "I have no anxiety about that. Market forces will deal with that. We will act according to the situation."

At an interaction with the media on the sidelines of a function commemorating World LPG Week, Puri was responding to queries. When he was asked about Russian oil company Gazprom not supplying liquified natural gas to GAIL, he retorted that there are talks going on between GAIL and Gazprom.

He said, "We have a very time-tested relationship with the countries involved, with the entities involved. If I remember correctly, there is a sanction on the European entity, and our contract was with somebody else. That discussion is going on. It will be resolved. At least, my expectation is that it will be resolved."

Later, when he was asked how oil marketing companies would get compensated for selling petrol and diesel at a loss for the past several months, he replied, "Obviously, they will want to be compensated... How they will be compensated (whether) by charging you later or asking for other compensation... These are big companies, so I don't get involved in that."