At a time when the closure of the Hormuz Strait has struck fears over a global oil supply shortage, India stands in a comfortable position when it comes to energy security, top government officials have told NDTV Profit, arguing that 60% of supplies come from routes other than the Strait of Hormuz.
The Indian government is keeping a close eye on the developments in the Middle East, with Iran currently at war with the United States and Israel. The mood in the overall region remains chaotic, further exacerbated by the demise of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
This has led to Iran closing off access to the strategically important Hormuz Strait, an artery to global oil transport, even warning that ships coming through the corridor will be set 'ablaze'.
This has led to fears over energy security, but the top government sources have told NDTV Profit that India still has three to four weeks of crude inventory, including products such as petrol and diesel. India is in a comfortable position when it comes to LPG and LNG as well.
As the third-largest oil importer in the world, India is heavily reliant on foreign imports of oil, which makes the closure of the Strait of Hormuz quite detrimental.
However, govt sources said only 40% of India's crude supply goes through the thin corridor, with the remaining 60% coming from other areas.
This comes on the back of an earlier report from NDTV Profit, which suggested that India might consider shipping more Russian crude as an emergency measure to combat the ongoing oil supply shortage problems, with the oil ministry as well as oil marketing companies constantly maintaining dialogue over the matter.
Sources have told NDTV Profit that India continues to import Russian crude as per previous contracts, even though the country vowed not to do so as part of the freshly signed India-US trade deal at the start of last month.
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