New Delhi: India, the world’s third-largest oil importer and fourth-biggest gas buyer, has enough energy supplies to meet requirements for several weeks and continues to receive supplies from several routes, Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said amid escalating tensions in the globe’s biggest energy supply regions.
In a post on X, the minister said the government has been “closely monitoring the evolving geopolitical situation in the Middle East since the past two weeks.”
“Under the leadership of PM @narendramodi Ji, we have diversified our supplies in the past few years and a large volume of our supplies do not come through the Strait of Hormuz now,” he said.
The Strait of Hormuz, which Iran is threatening to shut down following US strikes on its nuclear facilities, is an important transit for oil coming from the Middle East.
About 2 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil out of India’s total import of 5.5 million bpd transits through the narrow waterway. However, India has diversified sources — from Russia to the US and Brazil — which can readily fill any void.
Russian oil is logistically detached from the Strait of Hormuz, flowing via the Suez Canal, Cape of Good Hope, or Pacific Ocean.
Even the US, West African, and Latin American flows — though costlier — are increasingly viable backup options.
“Our Oil Marketing Companies have supplies for several weeks and continue to receive energy supplies from several routes. We will take all necessary steps to ensure stability of supplies of fuel to our citizens,” Puri said.
Global oil prices have jumped to their highest level since January after Israel struck Iran, in a dramatic escalation of tensions in the Middle East.
Rates of the benchmark Brent crude were up more than 10 per cent to USD 77 a barrel.
India imports more than 85 per cent of its crude oil needs and roughly half of its natural gas requirement. More than 40 per cent of the oil imports and half of gas imports come from the Middle East.
Despite the spike on Friday, oil prices are still more than 10 per cent lower than where they were at the same point last year. They are also well below over USD 100 a barrel rate seen in early 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Russia is India’s largest supplier of crude oil, which is refined into fuels like petrol and diesel in refineries.
Qatar is India’s biggest supplier of natural gas, which is used to make fertilisers, generate electricity, and turned into CNG to run automobiles and piped to household kitchens for cooking.
PTI
