Crude Price Slide Could Dampen Energy Investment, Says Oil Minister; India Lines Up Oil Deal with Brazil

Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri on Friday said that a sharp fall in crude oil prices could reduce incentives for investment in the energy sector, even though lower prices are likely to benefit consumers and downstream companies.

Puri said that while falling crude prices would be positive for consumers and downstream firms such as Indian Oil Corporation, upstream producers like Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and Oil India would be adversely impacted.

He cautioned that while global energy markets are undergoing rapid change, they are expected to remain broadly stable, noting that crude prices have neither fallen below $60 a barrel nor risen sharply in recent months.

“The world has become more challenging, but there is no shortage of oil globally,” Puri said. On the domestic energy landscape, he added that India faces several challenges but has managed to perform reasonably well on the parameters of “availability, affordability, and sustainability.”

$780 Million Crude Deal with Brazil

Puri said that state-run oil marketing company Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) will sign a term contract worth $780 million with Brazil’s Petrobras to source 12 million barrels of crude oil. The agreement will be signed at the upcoming India Energy Week 2026. BPCL is India’s second-largest downstream oil company.

India’s efforts to diversify crude oil imports come amid US sanctions on Russian oil, the imposition of punitive tariffs, and recent developments in Venezuela.

As part of its effort to secure a rollback of the 25% punitive tariff imposed by Washington, New Delhi has reduced crude imports from Russia and increasingly shifted sourcing to West Asia and South America. Last week, Indian refiners signed a contract to import Ecuadorian crude for the first time, with end-March delivery.

Alongside the term contract with Petrobras, Bharat PetroResources, BPCL’s wholly owned subsidiary, will also sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Shell to acquire stakes in oil and gas assets globally, Moneycontrol reported.

During India Energy Week, state-owned upstream firm Oil India, Numaligarh Refinery Ltd (NRL), and TotalEnergies are also expected to sign an MoU to collaborate on analysing sourcing opportunities in the liquefied natural gas (LNG) market, the report added.

“Global energy markets are undergoing change, but they remain stable despite these shifts. We are all in this together—consumers and producers,” Puri said. “It is important that we put our heads together and navigate this phase with a sense of purpose.”