New Delhi (Gurpreet Singh): India holds sufficient crude oil and fuel inventories to meet domestic demand for six to eight weeks, providing a critical cushion against short-term supply disruptions caused by escalating military conflict in West Asia. High-level government sources confirmed that the country is well-prepared to navigate the crisis triggered by joint U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iranian facilities, which has effectively halted tanker movements through the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has established a 24×7 control room to monitor the situation “on a daily and hourly basis.” While approximately 50 per cent of India’s crude and LPG imports traditionally transit the Strait of Hormuz, the government remains “cautiously optimistic” due to its successful diversification strategy. Indian energy companies now access significant supplies from the U.S., Russia, West Africa, and Latin America that do not rely on the contested waterway.
Current stockpiles include crude oil sufficient for 25 days, supplemented by refined products (petrol, diesel, and ATF) in refineries and pipelines for an additional 25 days. Furthermore, India’s Strategic Petroleum Reserves (SPR) at Mangalore, Padur, and Visakhapatnam hold roughly 100 million barrels of crude. Theoretically, these combined reserves cover approximately 40 to 45 days of total import needs in a full disruption scenario.
Despite the supply safety net, the primary concern remains economic. The global benchmark, Brent crude, has surged 10 per cent to cross $80 per barrel since the crisis began. For India, the world’s third-largest oil importer, this translates to a significantly higher import bill and potential inflationary pressure. In the first ten months of the current fiscal year (April 2025 to January 2026), India had already spent $100.4 billion on crude imports.
The geopolitical landscape remains complex; while India had previously agreed to reduce Russian oil purchases as part of a trade deal with the U.S., that agreement is currently in limbo following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling against President Donald Trump’s tariff policies. This legal shift may allow India more flexibility to tap into Russian and other non-Middle Eastern sources to bridge any temporary deficit in the coming weeks.
