Rama Krishna Sangem
America-Israel war with Iran will affect our homes, or to be precise, streets and kitchens . Indian families face the prospect of an acute cooking gas shortage in the coming weeks, as war traps supplies of liquefied petroleum gas in the Persian Gulf, deepening an energy crisis already threatening to drive up inflation in the world’s most populous nation.
While a widening conflict has put the spotlight on crude oil and liquefied natural gas cargoes stuck behind the Strait of Hormuz, India’s most immediate crunch will be in LPG — a niche fuel, but one where a shortfall will hit tens of millions of homes. That can only be averted if cargoes that had been due in March start moving within days, according to people familiar with the matter. They asked not to be named as they are not authorized to speak to the media.
On the other hand, the West Asia conflict does not pose any immediate threat to India’s energy security, according to people aware of the matter who cited what they said were crude oil and fuel stocks of 25 days each, as the government sought to allay concerns from observers following repeated escalation in hostilities in the Gulf — a region from where close to half of India’s crude oil imports come.
But, the minister is optimistic
Petroleum minister Hardeep Singh Puri said India has sufficient energy reserves to deal with the ongoing situation and that consumers of petrol, diesel and cooking gas will not immediately face any shortage.
India imports just over five million barrels of crude per day, of which roughly 2.5 million bpd transit the Strait of Hormuz, the 33-kilometre passage between Iran and Oman through which shipping has ground to a near-halt after Iranian retaliatory strikes on the Gulf. Qatar, which is one of the main suppliers of LNG, paused production on Monday.
The ministry said it has established a 24×7 control room to monitor supply and stock positions across the country. “At present, the government is reasonably comfortable in terms of stocks,” it said in a statement, adding it was “cautiously optimistic that phased measures can be taken, if required, to further mitigate the situation.”
But, experts say, unless Qatar resumes gas production, India that depends imports from there will definitely face shortages of supplies. There are very few alternatives to Qatari gas as of now, they say.