Our Bureau
New Delhi
The Indian Oil Ministry might have to look at alternative options as it prepares to face blockage of the Strait of Hormuz. The Oil Minister of India, Hardeep Puri has announced that the country is looking at the options outside the Persian Gulf in order to source crude oil and produce its own refined‑product exports
The recent enraging conflicts between Iran and Israel have troubled the market watchers. They believe that Iran could either strike down tankers transiting Hormuz, or could be looking at closing the strait that links the Gulf and the Indian ocean, altogether. The strait allows the passage of a quarter of World’s total oil trade.
Puri assured that even if push comes to shove and the supply of oil is disrupted by the Iran and Israel conflict, India has enough sources from outside the gulf to source crude oil. He has stated that they are not worried about the supply but pricing needs to be considered.
“We have enough diversified supplies of crude, and even if there were to be a disruption, we can source it from alternative suppliers. I don’t think this is something we are unduly worried about. Ample crude is available on the global market, so the concern is not supply but price.” Puri stated.
In its previous conflicts, Iran had threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz for the world. As of now there have been no reports that Iran is looking to close the strait as of now. Bloomberg reported that in total India consumes 5.5 million barrels of Oil per day, out of those 1.5 million barrels comes through the Strait of Hormuz. If Iran decides to close the strait India will have to find another way to source more than quarter of the oil consumed in India.
