India's oil supply chain safe from Hormuz closure: Puri
NEW DELHI: India's oil supply chain remains stable as a result of diversification in the last few years, oil minister Hardeep Puri said on Sunday as Iran's Parliament passed a motion calling for blocking the Strait of Hormuz, the critical choke point accounting for a fifth of global seaborne oil and a third of LNG shipments.
'We have 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 in a post on microblogging site X.
Indeed, latest data from analytics firm Kpler showed Indian refiners pivoting away from the Middle-East since the outbreak of hostilities between Israel and Iran stoked fears of Hormuz closure.
In June, for example, oil imports from Russia and the US outpaced combined volumes of from traditional Middle East suppliers such as Iraq and Saudi Arabia.
India currently imports oil from 13 countries. India does not buy any oil from Iran. But Hormuz is still crucial for India as 40% of its oil imports still passes through this narrow waterway between Iran and Oman.
Puri, however, assured citizens on supplies. 'Our Oil Marketing Companies have supplies of 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,' he said.
India currently imports oil from 13 countries. India does not buy any oil from Iran. But Hormuz is still crucial for India as 40% of its oil imports still passes through this narrow waterway between Iran and Oman.
The last word depends on Iran's Supreme Council, which has to approve the Parliament motion. Closure of Hormuz could lead to an upheaval in global oil trade and spike in crude prices since the alternative routes for evacuation of Middle-East oil is limited to about 2-3% of daily global supplies. The strait last effectively closed during the Iran-Iraq 'Tanker War' in 1984.
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