Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Mar 12: the Union Energy Minister Hardeep Singh Puri assured the country on Thursday that despite the turmoil in West Asia following the Iran – Israel US war, there was ‘no shortage of fuel’ in India amid mounting concerns due to Strait of Hormuz closure.
Addressing the Lok Sabha, Mr Puri said, “There is no shortage of petrol, diesel, kerosene, ATF or fuel oil. The availability of petrol, diesel, aviation and fuel oil is fully assured.” He said the crude oil supply position of India was secured. “Before the crisis, approximately 45% of India’s crude imports transited through the Hormuz route. Thanks to the honourable Prime Minister’s outstanding diplomatic outreach and goodwill, India has secured good volume that exceeds what the disrupted Strait of Hormuz could’ve delivered in the same period. Non-Hormuz sourcing has risen to approximately 70% of crude imports. India sources crude from 40 countries as against 27 in 2006 and 2007,” Mr Puri said.
“There is no shortage of petrol, diesel, kerosene, ATF or fuel oil. The availability of petrol, diesel, aviation turbine fuel, kerosene and fuel oil is fully assured… supply chains for these products are functioning normally,” he said. All this while, Opposition is sloganeering and protesting against Mr Puri’s remarks. Chants of “Epstein, Epstein” could be heard in the House.
Mr Puri also detailed the measures being taken to maintain India’s energy supply line, he emphasised that what the world was going through currently was something it has not faced in history, Puri said India has to “navigate the consequences” of the ongoing conflict in West Asia, even though it has no role in it.
The energy minister also addressed the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz which has disrupted the global energy supply and credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s diplomatic outreach for assuring that India secured crude volumes “that exceed what the disrupted Strait could have delivered in same period.”
Amid the ongoing concerns on LPG supply which has hit several restaurants across the country, Puri said “India’s crude oil and domestic LPG supply are fully protected.” “The world has not faced a moment of this kind in history… Despite India having no role in the conflict, it has to navigate the consequences… India’s crude oil and domestic LPG supply are fully protected.”
Highlighting the steps taken by the Indian government to make sure that fuel shortage does not hit Indian households, Puri said it was the Modi goverment’s priority that the kitchens of “India’s 33 crore families do not face any (fuel) shortage.” He said that procurement of LPG has been actively diversified as India was now receiving cargoes from the United States, Norway, Canada, Algeria and Russia and that India’s LPG production “has been increased by 28% through refinery directives.”
“It should be noted that India was previously importing approximately 60% of its LPG requirements from Gulf countries such as Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, while 40% is produced domestically. Procurement has now been actively diversified, with cargoes being secured from the United States, Norway, Canada, Algeria and Russia… Hence, in the last five days, LPG production has been increased by 28% through refinery directives, and further procurement is currently underway,” Puri said in Lok Sabha.
Amid closure of hotels and restaurants over concerns of fuel shortage, the ministry of petroleum and natural gas on Thursday announced that some commercial liquid petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders would be released adding that state governments would identify the beneficiaries. The oil ministry also said 40,000 kilolitre of additional kerosene has been allocated to states as an alternative to LPG.
Sujata Sharma, joint secretary, ministry of petroleum and natural gas, said during an inter-ministerial briefing that almost 50 lakh cylinders were delivered on a daily basis, adding that no dry out has been reported “on the distribution side.” “But there is a manifold increase in bookings because of the panic. We urge the citizens to avoid panic booking…State governments have been requested to identify the list of beneficiaries so that the delivery of the cylinder, commercial cylinder, can be made on a priority basis,” Ms Sharma added.
She further said every quarter, the government makes an allocation of almost 1 lakh kilolitre of kerosene to the states. “Today, the order has been released and another 48,000 kilolitres of kerosene will be released to the state governments,” she added.
Following yesterday’s figure of 25 per cent, Sharma said the LPG production has now increased to 28 per cent. “We have a very vast network of retail outlets. Almost one lakh retail outlets are operating in the country. The majority of these are with public sector oil marketing companies. No dry out has been reported on any of these retail outlets,” she said during the press briefing.
Fears and concerns over the LPG shortage have been taking over the states across the country. Consumers have been rushing to their gas agencies in a panic to book cylinders. Amid the ongoing panic, senior Delhi police officials reportedly directed their officers to prepare a list of gas agencies in their respective jurisdictions and deploy personnel to maintain the law and order situation.
The move also aims to curtail any attempts at black marketing cooking gas cylinders during the ongoing supply crunch, and ensure smooth distribution of the cylinders. “The SHOs will deploy police personnel along with PCR vans and motorcycle patrol riders near gas agencies to maintain law and order and ensure that the distribution process remains smooth,” a senior official said. Several hotels and restaurants have also reportedly closed their doors amid the shortage.