India has weeks of fuel reserves, will receive energy via multiple routes, says Hardeep Singh Puri

India, the world’s third-largest importer of oil and fourth-largest buyer of natural gas, has sufficient energy reserves to meet its requirements for the next several weeks, Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said on Sunday.

His comments come as tensions escalate in some of the world’s most critical energy-producing regions. Puri said that India continues to receive energy supplies through multiple routes, ensuring continuity and stability in procurement despite geopolitical uncertainties.

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.

Energy markets and investors were already on high alert since Israel launched airstrikes across Iran on June 13, fearing disruption particularly through the Strait of Hormuz.

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.

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.

Separately Puri told local news agency ANI that India would increase crude supplies from other sources if required. ”We are in touch with all possible actors… It is our hope, and we all expect that the situation will result in calm and de-escalation rather than further escalation,” he said.

Earlier in the day Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi received a phone call from Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, in which he was briefed about the conflict between Iran and Israel, India’s foreign ministry said.

With inputs from agencies