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Informist, Tuesday, May 12, 2026

 

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--Oil Minister: There is a challenge, but converted challenge to opportunity 
--CONTEXT: Oil Minister Puri speaking at CII Annual Business Summit 
--Oil Minister:LPG output ramped up to 54,000 tn/day vs 36,000 tn before war 
--Oil Minister on fuel price hike: Not related to elections 
--Oil Minister: Have 60 days' of crude, LNG, 45 days of LPG; no shortage 
--Oil minister on prolonged West Asia war: Must rethink lifestyle choices 
--Oil minister on prolonged W Asia war:Need to take steps to cut fisc strain 
--Oil minister: Don't know how long oil cos can absorb losses, it worries me 
--Puri: In final talks with fin min for funds on oil exploration, production 
--Oil minister: India to be one of top refiner hubs globally in 2-3 yrs 
--Oil minister: Time has come to stock up India's strategic oil reserves 
--Oil minister:Want to scale up energy transition, need more to switch to PNG 
--Oil minister: Don't know how long Hormuz issue will continue 
--Oil minister:No supply-side issue; more than enough crude, LNG, LPG stock
 

 

NEW DELHI - India continues to hold adequate stock of both oil and gas even as it is going through one of the worst energy crises in decades, but it is time to shore up India's strategic petroleum reserves, Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said Tuesday. "I think the time has come, and I think everyone in the government I have spoken to shares this view, that we will need to stock up even more," Puri said. 

 

India currently has "something like 76 days of holding, which is not bad," Puri said while speaking at the Confederation of Indian Industry's Annual Business Summit. "I want the strategic reserve to be, as per the definition, strategic and located in a safe place and it should be there for me to draw on," the minister said. 

 

India is facing severe energy crisis due to the war in West Asia. It has been exposed to energy supply and price shocks, given its dependence on countries in the Persian Gulf region for crude oil, liquefied petroleum gas, and liquefied natural gas supplies. Crude oil prices have soared around 60% following the closure of the Strait of Hormuz since early March. Nearly half of India's crude and natural gas imports pass through this crucial waterway. The supply shock has led to a surge in fuel prices in several developing and advanced economies, but retail prices in India have remained unchanged. 

 

"If you look at the geography, the sedimentary basin, we have about 3.5 million square kilometres of sedimentary basin. We were exploiting only 6% of that. We want to take it to 15%," Puri said. Speaking about the Samudra Manthan Scheme, the oil minister said that the ministry was in final talks with the finance ministry with regards to funds that will be released for oil and gas exploration and production under this scheme. 

 

 

Mission Samudra Manthan is a national deepwater exploration drive announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in August 2025 to boost India's energy security and reduce 85% import dependency. It focuses on exploring deep-sea oil and gas reserves, developing submersibles for seabed mining, and increasing domestic energy production through advanced, mission-mode technology. With these measures, India will emerge as a top refinery hub globally in the next two to three years, he said. As such, India has no supply shortage and has 60 days' stock for crude oil and liquefied natural gas and 45 days' stock of LPG, he said.

 

The need for higher reserves and higher refinery capacity assumes significance against the backdrop of the supply shock emanating from the closure of Strait of Hormuz. India is particularly struggling with the supply of LPG as it depends on imports to meet around 60% of its LPG needs and around 90% of those imports transit through the crucial chokepoint. Liquefied petroleum gas is India's primary cooking gas. According to Puri, the government is currently focussed on transitioning LPG consumers into piped natural gas consumers. It is both economical and ecologically viable, he said. After the West Asia crisis started, Indian refiners ramped up LPG production to 54,000 tonnes per day from 36,000 tonne before the war, Puri said. 

 

State-owned oil companies are so far bearing the brunt of the ongoing crisis, while ensuring uninterrupted energy imports and supply, and that may lead to their losses for Apr-Jun ballooning to INR 1 trillion, the minister said. According to him, their losses are worrying and the overall conflict, especially now that it has been prolonged, leads to fiscal strain. "...how long will the oil companies be able to take it? Frankly that's something that worries me," he said. 

 

This does not, however, mean that price pressure will be passed on to consumers immediately. It is contingent on how crude prices move, he said. "I could argue that the price of oil which is around $116 comes down to around $70, you may not have to take any hard measure," he said. 

 

Amid the rising clamour about an imminent rise in petrol and diesel prices, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's comments on Sunday only added fuel to the fire. Modi Sunday urged people to cut down on the use of petrol and diesel as India finds itself in an increasingly tough spot amid the ongoing energy crises. Speaking at a political rally, he said that petrol and diesel prices have risen sharply in the global market and cutting down on their use will help India conserve its forex reserves, which are being used to pay for imports. 

 

Puri said that Modi's comments were "visionary" and it is a responsibility for all Indians to readjust their lifestyle choices given the crisis. "It has been a challenge but I think the message that needs to go across is that we converted that challenge into an opportunity," the oil minister said.  End

 

Reported by Priyasmita Dutta 

Edited by Akul Nishant Akhoury

 

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