India is looking for alternative sources to further strengthen its energy security, under which many other countries including Australia and Canada have offered additional gas supply. Official sources gave this information on Saturday. Citing the closure of the Strait of Hormuz due to the ongoing conflict between Iran and America-Israel, sources said that this route is not the only route for India to import crude oil. He stressed that the days of dependence on a single sea route are over. He said supplies from Russia, West Africa, the US, West Asia and non-Gulf Middle Eastern routes have ensured that supplies remain intact in the event of disruption in any one corridor.
Suppliers from more than 40 countries and India
Sources said only about 40 percent of India’s crude oil imports pass through the Strait of Hormuz, while about 60 percent comes through other supply routes that remain unaffected. He said that for this reason there has been no shortage of energy for Indian consumers even during global turmoil or epidemic. Several countries, including Australia and Canada, have offered additional gas supplies and India continues to look for alternative sources to further strengthen energy security.
India has also recently entered into new energy supply arrangements with partners such as the US and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to ensure stable long-term supply. Over the past decade, India’s strategic oil diplomacy has expanded its supplier base from 27 countries to 40 countries across six continents. Sources said that those days are over when India’s energy security fluctuated with the conditions of a single sea route. He emphasized that India’s energy purchasing decisions are based on one principle – the interest of the country.
India followed the rules
A senior government official said that we take crude oil from wherever the supply is available, competitively priced and deliverable, and we will continue to do so. This has been our consistent position. US Treasury Secretary Scott Besant on Friday announced a 30-day waiver to allow Indian refiners to continue buying Russian oil, and described India as an essential partner. India has complied with all 18 rounds of the G7 price cap rules since their implementation. This exemption removes a bottleneck that was never in anyone’s interest to maintain and recognizes the stable role of India’s refining and buying capacity in the global energy market.
Fuel prices increased in many countries
Sources said that every decision of the government in the petroleum sector is guided by three criteria – affordability, availability and sustainability. Sources said these are not aspirations; These are operational commitments with auditable outcomes. On fuel prices, sources said that during the same period, petrol prices in Pakistan increased by about 55 per cent, in Germany by 22 per cent, in France by 19 per cent and in the US by 11.54 per cent, while in India petrol prices increased by less than 1 per cent.