"India has to ensure the flow of traditional energy such as oil and gas", says Minister Hardeep Singh Puri

New Delhi [India], February 7 : India has successfully navigated volatile oil markets and overcome limited strategic oil storage availability by carefully planning its oil imports from new sources and investing in the refining sector, stated Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri at the India Energy Week conference in Goa.
As per S&P Global Commodity Insights, addressing the conference, Minister Puri emphasized the need for India to ensure the uninterrupted flow of traditional energy like oil and gas, despite pushing ahead with its energy transition plans.
Puri said, "India has to ensure the flow of traditional energy such as oil and gas even though the country was pushing ahead with its energy transition plans".

He highlighted India's strategic planning and investments in the refining sector, which have led to the development of a robust oil industry.
"India, despite having no large oil reserves of its own, has managed to successfully develop a large oil industry by strategic planning and investments in the refining sector. Last fiscal year, crude oil was India's biggest import item, while petroleum products made up the largest share of exports", Puri said.
India's strategic petroleum reserves, managed by Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Ltd., currently have a capacity of 5.33 million mt, providing for about 9.5 days of total net oil imports.
Additionally, state oil companies hold storage facilities for crude oil and petroleum products for 64.5 days of total net imports, bringing the total national storage capacity to 74 days of total net imports.
Minister Puri highlighted the importance of ensuring the continuous flow of traditional energy even amid the transition to cleaner energy sources.
"Even as we transition, we have to ensure that flow of traditional energy is not disrupted. Because of the pragmatic policies of the honorable prime minister, India has played a crucial role of a unifier in a deeply divided world and ensure that the flow of energy is not disrupted," the minister said.
He praised India's role in ensuring energy flow globally and stressed the importance of stable crude oil prices for both producing and consuming countries.
"In the foreseeable future, that is the year 2024, I don't see any difficulties in crude availability. Saudi Arabia is producing less than its capacity. However, the market already has enough oil to meet demand," the minister stated, noting that the global oil market currently has enough oil to meet demand.
India's crude imports rose 2.4% year-on-year to 233.38 million mt in the latest provisional data, with Russia emerging as the biggest crude supplier to India in 2023, contributing over 35% of India's total crude imports.
"Even though imports have slipped slightly, India is still importing around 30% of its crude requirements from Russia. This was 0.2% before the Russia-Ukraine war", Puri told reporters.
Despite recent events affecting crude shipments, including the Red Sea attacks causing diversions and higher shipping costs, Russia remains a significant crude supplier to India.
Puri noted that even though imports have slightly decreased, India continues to import around 30% of its crude requirements from Russia.
Looking ahead, Minister Puri emphasized the importance of addressing global energy challenges while prioritizing energy security, affordability, and sustainability.
Puri said, "India's flagship domestic energy schemes, such as the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, National Biofuels Policy and National Green Hydrogen Mission, along with global initiatives such as the International Solar Alliance and Global Biofuels Alliance, garnered global appreciation, support, and adoption".
"These initiatives collectively aim to ensure affordable energy access for citizens on a global scale. The Global Biofuels Alliance will help in accelerating inclusive energy transition for a sustainable world. Biofuels is unique as it is decentralized, it gives money to the people and is clean for environment," Puri added.
He highlighted India's flagship domestic energy schemes and global initiatives aimed at ensuring affordable energy access and accelerating the transition to cleaner energy sources.
"India is ready to collaborate with partner countries in replicating our strategies and solutions across both conventional and non-conventional energy sources, contributing to the creation of a sustainable global energy model," Minister Puri concluded.