India Has So Far Navigated Crude Oil Supply Disruptions, Puri Notes

Union Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Monday said India had so far managed to navigate disruptions to crude oil and natural gas supplies arising from the West Asia conflict and volatility around the Strait of Hormuz. Speaking at an event organised by the Merchants’ Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Kolkata, Puri said the global energy situation remained challenging but India had been able to insulate itself from much of the disruption.

Puri said the principal challenge was not a shortage of crude but logistics and distribution, particularly through vulnerable transit routes. He said global crude availability was around 104 million barrels per day against consumption of about 94 million barrels per day. According to him, disruptions to established routes and the West Asia crisis were affecting a significant portion of global energy movement, making the security of supply routes a key concern.

The minister said India had diversified its crude sourcing network to 41 countries from 27 earlier, reducing its dependence on supplies from any single region. He identified Qatar, the UAE and Saudi Arabia among India's major energy suppliers located in or around the conflict-affected region. Puri also cautioned that alternative routes, including the Red Sea, carried their own risks because of security threats to shipping.

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Puri identified LPG availability as one of his main concerns, particularly as the number of domestic LPG connections has increased significantly over the past decade. He said domestic LPG production had risen from around 34,000 metric tonnes a day to 54,000 metric tonnes a day. The government, he added, was focused on maintaining energy availability and affordability while encouraging the use of alternative energy sources where feasible.

The minister also said the government had supported public sector oil marketing companies facing under-recoveries and had taken measures to manage fuel prices. He said India's energy demand was growing at about three times the global average, reflecting the country's economic expansion, while the petroleum sector contributes significantly to government tax revenues. Puri said maintaining stability in energy supplies was therefore important for the wider economy.

Separately, the government has approved the GOBARdhan National Circular Bioenergy Scheme with an outlay of Rs 23,731 crore. The scheme aims to expand domestic compressed biogas production nearly tenfold by converting organic resources such as cattle dung, crop residue and other biomass into clean fuel and organic manure. The scheme is being implemented from 2026-27 to 2035-36 and is intended to strengthen domestic energy production and support a circular bioeconomy.

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