Crisis not over in West Asia, potential to escalate further: Petroleum Minister Hardeep Puri

Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri | Photo credit: ANI

The crisis in West Asia is not over and has the potential to get worse, Hardeep Singh Puri, Union Petroleum Minister, said at India’s annual public affairs conclave.

He added that regardless of the prevailing situation, a potential silver lining is the abundant availability of oil in the global market.

“The crisis is definitely not over, not only is it continuing, but it has the potential to get worse. In other words, it could be even more serious,” he said.

stresses that global oil availability is still higher than current demand; said around 102 million barrels per day (mb/d) of crude oil are available in the market, while India’s domestic requirement is estimated at 94-95 mb/d.

The Union Minister also ruled out restricting exports under tightened market conditions.

Speaking separately in a broader context, Mr Puri said a return to stability could help keep oil prices under control. “I hope that with all the peace councils around the world, peace will come and the price of oil should be lower rather than higher,” he said.

“FDI in refining is not needed, but there is interest”

Responding to a query, Mr. Puri said that while India does not need foreign investment to drive its refinery expansion, foreign investors have shown interest in the industry.

“You don’t need it, but yes, they want to come in,” he said, further explaining, “No one wants to come in and invest unless they can get a piece of your growing downstream market. So you want to be clear.”

The petroleum minister said the cost of constructing the refinery is between ₹ 78,000 to ₹ 80,000 crores.

Published – 24 Sep 2026 22:09 IST