'If crude remains at current level...': Hardeep Puri on when petrol, diesel prices may come down

India will increase its oil refining capacity from around 270 million metric tonnes per annum (MTPA) to 300 MTPA over the next six months to two years as several refinery projects come on stream, Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said on Thursday.

Addressing a media briefing, Puri said the HPCL Rajasthan Refinery is the first greenfield refinery since Indian Oil Corporation's Paradip refinery and is being established after a gap of 10 years. The refinery will have 9 MMTPA refining capacity and 2.4 MMTPA petrochemical capacity.

"Today India's refining capacity is around 270 MTPA," Puri said, adding that several refinery projects are in advanced stages of implementation and will be commissioned over the next six months to two years.

"The expansion will take our overall refining capacity to 300 MTPA," he said.

India intends to raise refining capacity to 309.5 MMTPA by 2030 and 400-450 MMTPA in the long term, with the country expected to emerge among the top three global refining hubs, he added.

Puri also said nearly 20%, or over 100 refineries globally, are expected to face closure by 2035.

"The United States has not had a greenfield refinery for the last 50 years. As far as Europe is concerned, it is losing refining capacity at the rate of 200,000 barrels per day...if you look at the broader global picture, we can see that by 2030, there are likely to be three or four major refining hubs in the world."

"India is certainly emerging as, and is probably already, the third-largest refining hub in the world. So, I see smaller, less competitive refineries closing down. Global trade in hydrocarbons will be determined and very largely influenced by those countries that have significant refining capacity," the minister said. 

On fuel prices, Puri said, "There has been no increase in prices for consumers."

Responding to questions on when energy prices could decline further, he said petrol and diesel currently being sold were refined from crude purchased when global crude and freight rates were higher.

"Petrol and diesel being processed currently are priced in at higher crude and freight prices, bought at higher prices. OMCs have been reeling under huge under-recoveries and losses," he said.

The minister said that when crude oil prices went up, the central government decided to reduce the burden on consumers by cutting excise duty. And that excise cut of ₹10 per litre on petrol and ₹10 per litre on diesel, he added, is "resulting in a revenue sacrifice of around ₹1 lakh crore."

"I also tried to explain that the stocks currently held by private-sector companies and oil marketing companies were purchased two to two-and-a-half months ago, when crude prices were higher. As for your question about when prices may come down further, if prices remain at the current level, the situation will become clearer in the coming period. It would not be appropriate for me to speculate," he said. 

The minister said India remained adequately stocked with fuel during the West Asia crisis after diversifying its sources of supply. "During the West Asia crisis, we were sufficiently stocked with crude, diesel, and LPG," he said.

According to him, India had 60 days of crude and natural gas stocks and 45 days of LPG stocks even at the peak of the crisis. He said more than 30 vessels could not cross the Strait of Hormuz due to the blockade.

To meet demand, India shifted part of its production from petrochemicals to LPG, increasing production from 35 metric tonnes per day to 55 metric tonnes per day.

Puri said 1.3 lakh customers shifted to PNG, while India agreed to source 10% of its LPG from the US, with supplies beginning in January 2026. 

He added that India increased the number of crude supply sources from 27 to 41 during the West Asia crisis.

The minister also spoke on oil imports from Venezuela. He said India continues to have an old relationship with Venezuela. "We have an old relationship with Venezuela, and we have some money stuck there," he said.

He added that Indian oil marketing companies had sourced crude from Venezuela and were able to process heavy crude.

Venezuela's Acting President Delcy Eloína Rodríguez Gómez was on a five-day working visit to India from June 3 to 7. During her visit, Puri met Gómez and "discussed opportunities for building an enduring energy partnership between the two countries."

During the meeting, the minister said the Indian companies were ready to deepen their presence in Venezuela. He also conveyed India's keenness to deepen its energy trade with Venezuela.

Venezuela is home to the world's largest proven oil reserves. The country is a traditional supplier of crude oil to India. Also, India's sophisticated refining sector is uniquely equipped to process Venezuela's heavy crude.

Venezuela was among the largest crude oil suppliers to India in April and May 2026. India's average monthly imports from Venezuela increased from 64.027 TMT during FY 2025-26 to 1,047.148 TMT in April-May of FY 2026-27, the Ministry of Petroleum said in a statement on June 5.