New Delhi: India has no immediate worries even if Iran does close down the Strait of Hormuz, the government has assured.
Petroleum minister Hardeep Singh Puri said on Sunday evening that India has enough energy supplies to meet requirements for several weeks and continues to receive supplies from several routes.
“The government is 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,” puro posted on X.
Concerns were raised after the US bombed three nuclear sites in Iran on Sunday morning, following which the Islamic republic threatened to close down the Strait of Hormuz. India is the world’s third-largest importer of oil and fourth-biggest gas buyer, after all.
While nearly 2 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil out of India’s total import of 5.5 million bpd transits through the Strait of Hormuz, the country has diversified sources — from Russia to the US and Brazil. This can easily fill the void, officials have said.
Oil from Russia moves through the Suez Canal, Cape of Good Hope, or Pacific Ocean. Supplies from the US, Brazil and West African countries are costlier, but can make up for any deficit during an emergency.
“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 added.
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.
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.
Global oil prices are at their highest since January after the Iran-Israel conflict started. Rates of the benchmark Brent crude were up more than 10 per cent to $77 a barrel.
