Middle East tensions: Amid the Middle East conflict, Australia, Canada and several other countries have offered more gas supplies as India looks for other sources to strengthen its energy security, official sources said on Saturday. Citing the ongoing US-Israel conflict with Iran leading to the closure of the key shipping route through the Strait of Hormuz, sources told PTI that the passage is not the only route for India’s crude imports and asserted that the days of dependence on a single maritime chokepoint are long over.
India’s diversified energy strategy mitigates risks of Strait of Hormuz disruption
Sources explained that supply from Russia, West Africa, the Americas, Central Asia, and non-Gulf Middle Eastern routes ensures that disruptions in any one corridor result in managed sourcing adjustments rather than a supply emergency.
They said that about 40 percent of India’s crude imports pass through the Strait of Hormuz, while about 60 percent are through other supply routes that remain unaffected.
Sources said this has ensured that there is no energy shortage for Indian consumers even during global turmoil or the pandemic.
Several countries, including Australia and Canada, have also offered additional gas supplies, and India is exploring other sources to further strengthen its energy security.
India has also recently entered into new energy supply arrangements with partners such as the United States and the United Arab Emirates to ensure long-term stable supplies.
Over the past ten years, India’s strategic oil diplomacy has expanded its supplier base from 27 to 40 countries across six continents. Sources said the days when India’s energy security rose and fell with the conditions of a single maritime chokepoint are over.
“We source crude from wherever supplies are available, competitively priced, and deliverable, and we will continue to do so. This has been our consistent position across administrations and across geopolitical cycles,” a senior government official said, adding that the recent US statements are meant for the country’s domestic audience.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Friday announced a 30-day waiver allowing Indian refiners to continue buying oil from Russia, calling India an essential partner.
India has complied with all 18 rounds of G7 price cap rules since they came into effect.
This waiver removes a barrier that was never in anyone’s interest to maintain and recognizes the stable role of India’s refining and purchasing power in the global energy market.
Sources said India is in close contact with major global crude oil and gas suppliers, as well as international energy institutions such as the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
“India acted within international law throughout. Every transaction used compliant shipping, audited channels, and legal traders. India did not break the rules. India stabilised markets and the record of global crude prices during a period when India was actively procuring is the clearest evidence of that,” the official added.
On fuel prices
On fuel prices, sources said that during the same period, petrol prices increased by about 55 per cent in Pakistan, 22 per cent in Germany, 19 per cent in France and 11.54 per cent in the US, while petrol prices in India increased by less than 1 per cent.
Iranian President apologises for recent strikes; vows no attacks unless provoked
Iran’s president has apologized on Saturday for attacks on countries in the region, even as its missiles and drones flew toward Gulf Arab states, underscoring Tehran’s political leadership’s lack of full control over the Islamic Republic’s armed forces, and rejecting US President Donald Trump’s repeated demands for surrender.
“I should apologize to the neighboring countries that were attacked by Iran, on my own behalf,” the president said. “From now on, they should not attack neighboring countries or fire missiles at them, unless we are attacked by those countries. I think we should solve this through diplomacy.”
“I think we need to solve this with diplomacy rather than fighting and having problems with neighboring countries,” he added, as quoted by CNN.
Meanwhile, the Iranian president also rejected US President Donald Trump’s demand for “complete surrender,” stating, “Iran’s enemies must take their wish for the unconditional surrender of the Iranian people to their graves.”
With agency inputs
