New Delhi: With India exploring alternative sources to further strengthen its energy security, countries like Australia, Canada and several others have offered additional gas supplies, official sources said Saturday.
Citing the ongoing US-Israel conflict with Iran leading to the closure of the key shipping route through the Strait of Hormuz, sources said the passage is not the only route for India’s crude imports and asserted that the days of dependence on a single maritime chokepoint are long over.
They noted that supplies from Russia, West Africa, the Americas, Central Asia, and non-Gulf Middle Eastern routes have ensured that disruption in any single corridor results in a managed sourcing adjustment, rather than a supply emergency.
Only around 40 per cent of India’s crude imports pass through the Strait of Hormuz, while about 60 per cent are routed through other supply routes that remain unaffected, they said.
This has ensured that there has been no shortage of energy for Indian consumers even during global turmoil or the pandemic, sources said.
Several countries, including Australia and Canada, have also offered additional gas supplies, and India continues to explore alternative sources to further strengthen energy security, they said.
India has also recently entered into new energy supply arrangements with partners such as the United States and the United Arab Emirates to ensure stable long-term supplies.
Over the last decade, India’s strategic oil diplomacy has expanded its supplier base from 27 to 40 countries across six continents. The days when India’s energy security rose and fell with conditions in a single maritime chokepoint are over, sources said.
They highlighted that India’s energy procurement decisions are governed by one principle — national interest.
“We source crude from wherever supplies are available, competitively priced, and deliverable, and we will continue to do so. This has been our consistent position across administrations and across geopolitical cycles,” a senior government official said, adding that the recent US statements are meant for the country’s domestic audience.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Friday announced a 30-day waiver permitting Indian refiners to continue purchases of Russian oil, describing India as an essential partner.
India has complied with all 18 rounds of G7 price cap rules since they were introduced.
The waiver removes a friction that was never in anyone’s interest to sustain and recognises the stabilising role India’s refining and procurement capacity has played in global energy markets.
India remains in close touch with major global crude oil and gas suppliers as well as international energy institutions such as the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), sources said.
“India acted within international law throughout. Every transaction used compliant shipping, audited channels, and legal traders. India did not break the rules. India stabilised markets and the record of global crude prices during a period when India was actively procuring is the clearest evidence of that,” the official added.
Sources said every decision taken by the government in the petroleum sector is guided by three criteria — affordability, availability, and sustainability. These are not aspirations; they are operational commitments with auditable outcomes, sources said.
On fuel prices, the sources noted that petrol prices rose by about 55 per cent in Pakistan, 22 per cent in Germany, 19 per cent in France, and 11.54 per cent in the US during the same period, while India’s petrol prices increased by less than 1 per cent.
PTI
