India currently has around 100 million barrels of commercial oil reserves. This oil is not stored in one place. Some is kept in large storage tanks, some in underground strategic reserves, while the rest is already loaded on ships sailing into the country.
This will become important if oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz are disrupted. Hormuz is a narrow but key sea route through which a large proportion of the world’s shipping passes. As recent geopolitical tensions have threatened to slow or stop traffic there, countries that depend on Middle Eastern oil, including India, could face supply problems.
As the US and Israel escalate military operations against Iran, global markets brace for the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Although Iran has claimed that it has already closed the strait, according to many reports, it is still unclear whether it is a complete closure.
How many days will India’s oil reserves last?
With India’s current oil reserves, it can meet its requirement in about 40-45 days, according to estimates by energy analytics firm Kpler, quoted by PTI in its report.
India imports about 88% of the crude oil it needs, with more than half supplied by Middle Eastern countries. These shipments pass through the Strait of Hormuz, the flow of which was interrupted during the Iran crisis.
In the event that oil supplies to the Middle East are completely halted for a temporary period due to regional outages, the immediate impact would be logistical and price-driven, news agency PTI said.
What can India do to offset the impact of the shutdown?
India is the world’s third largest oil importer as it gets about half of its oil needs through the narrow strait. Its main supplier of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in Qatar also uses the strait to transport fuel to India.
To offset the impact of the closure of the strait, India could increase purchases from suppliers outside the Middle East. Countries in West Africa, Latin America and the US can make up the potential shortfall. India could also draw on Russian oil to offset the deficit, the news agency said.
India has agreed to gradually reduce oil purchases from Russia as part of a broader trade deal with the United States. The deal faces uncertainty after the US Supreme Court struck down US President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
If the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow 33-kilometer passage connecting the Persian Gulf to the Arabian Sea, were to be cut off or shipping forced to take longer routes, India’s oil import bill would rise, forcing India to either diversify its import sources or buy more expensive oil.
