US Energy Secretary offers help to get India off of Russian oil

The US wants to work with India to help it shift its oil purchases away from Russia, whether the supplies come from the US or other oil producers, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Sept. 24.

"America has oil to sell, but so does everybody else," Wright said at a press conference held by the UN's Foreign Press Center in New York. "We want to end the war, and we want to grow our relations with India," he said.

Wright also urged Europe to speed up its plans to phase out Russian oil and gas. "There's a plan in Europe to do this, but, you know, almost over two years," he said. "We'd love to see that faster, for peace reasons."

All of Europe's purchases of Russian LNG should be displaced by American LNG or gas supplies from elsewhere, Wright said.

The US has plenty of places to sell the gas, so it's not like America needs a customer for that gas, Wright said. "But the faster we can displace Russian gas, the more pressure we can put on President Putin," he said.

US President Donald Trump has pushed to get India to buy more US crude. In February, Trump said the two countries had "reached an important agreement on energy" that would result in more US crude exports to India.

Indian imports of US crude have averaged 312,000 b/d so far in 2025, up from 219,000 b/d in 2024, according to S&P Global Commodities at Sea data. Indian imports of US crude hit 469,000 b/d in February and August 2025, CAS data shows.

On Aug. 27, the US doubled its tariffs on Indian goods to 50% in response to India's continued purchase of Russian oil.

Petroleum Council study launched

Wright has long touted US energy production, and on Sept. 22 he asked the National Petroleum Council to launch a comprehensive Future Energy Systems study to explore how to boost US oil and gas production. The study will focus on practical fixes to speed up permitting for energy infrastructure and better align the gas and electric industries.

But while the Trump administration has touted various deregulatory efforts designed to lower the cost of production and spur domestic activity, the US shale patch is continuing to delay investment decisions and raise questions over the Trump administration's trade and energy policies, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas's latest quarterly energy survey.

One executive noted their company had cut its drilling schedule from 10 wells to five after Trump's announcement of "reciprocal" tariffs on many US trade partners in April, and was now suspending drilling indefinitely. Others complained about the increased costs of aluminum and steel, which face 50% sectoral import tariffs.