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How much can oil prices impact India's import bill in post-sanctions era?

There are compelling reasons for India not to worry too much about oil prices in the post-sanctions regime

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FILE PHOTO: A seagull flies in front of an oil platform | Photo: Reuters

Subhomoy Bhattacharjee
To what extent would the US sanctions on Iran, disruptions in Venezuela and other controversial developments in the international crude oil market, such as the contamination of supplies from Russia to Europe (a well-cleaning chemical has entered the pipeline that could take months to clean up), impact India’s oil import bill? 

The unexpected answer is: Not much. That’s because India matters in the global politics of oil market as a purchaser, a heft it did not have earlier. First, it is buying far more and the rest of the world (especially Europe) is buying a lot less. India bought 226.6