(Corrects last paragraph in Feb. 8 story to OPEC seminar from
OPEC+ meeting)
BENGALURU, India, Feb 8 (Reuters) - India, the world's
third-biggest oil importer and consumer, has diversified its
sources of energy imports but will continue to buy most of its
oil from the Middle East for a long time, the South Asian
country's oil minister said on Wednesday.
"I continue to maintain that the Gulf, countries of the
gulf, will continue to be major suppliers and account for a
large percentage of our imports for a long time to come,"
Hardeep Singh Puri told reporters at India Energy Week.
He also said India will consider buying oil from Iran and
Venezuela if sanctions are lifted and would continue purchases
from Russia if prices "continue to be good".
India has diversified its sources of oil imports to 39
countries from 27 two years ago, he said.
Rising purchases of Russian oil have reduced the share of
supplies of India's crude imports from the Organization of the
Petroleum Exporting Countries to the lowest in more than a
decade.
OPEC Secretary-General Haitham Al Ghais has invited India to
be a part of an OPEC seminar, Puri added.
(Reporting by Nidhi Verma in Bengaluru, Writing by Shilpa
Jamkhandikar; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)
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