Speaking at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum, Sechin said India occupied a “special place” in the global oil market, the state-run TASS news agency reported Saturday.
“Over the next 10 years, this country will account for about half of the global increase in oil demand,” TASS quoted Sechin as saying.
Sechin cited International Energy Agency estimates projecting that India’s oil consumption would reach nearly eight million barrels per day by 2035, representing growth of 44 per cent, while global demand overall would increase by about five per cent.
The Rosneft chief also said Russian oil supplies had generated economic benefits for India and China since April 2022.
According to TASS, Sechin said the cumulative value of those benefits had exceeded USD 40 billion.
He also said Russia’s economic partnership with India and China helped ensure stable energy supplies and argued that Russia could not be excluded from global supply chains. Sechin has warned that disruptions to supplies through the Strait of Hormuz could lead to higher fertiliser and food prices, with India among those most vulnerable to the impact.
TASS quoted Sechin as saying fertiliser prices had risen by nearly 60 per cent in the first four months of the year and that supply disruptions, coupled with a lack of strategic reserves in affected markets, increased the risk of a global food crisis.
Sechin said India, countries in Africa and Southeast Asia would be among the most vulnerable to any food-price shock arising from disruptions to fertiliser supplies.
The St Petersburg International Economic Forum was held from June 3 to June 6.
Earlier, addressing delegates at the forum, Russian President Vladimir Putin had said that any attempt to undermine India’s sovereignty through “threats of sanctions” would “boomerang immediately” under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership.
Putin made these remarks on Friday in response to a question about his comments during an interaction with heads of leading global news agencies, including PTI, the previous night.