40% of crude imports linked to West Asia; govt assures uninterrupted fuel supply

The Centre on Monday said India continues to maintain adequate supplies of petroleum products and fertilisers despite disruptions caused by the ongoing West Asia conflict while also stepping up measures to secure energy supplies and support domestic demand. 

Sujata Sharma, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum, said the conflict has impacted India’s imports, given the country’s dependence on the region for crude oil, LPG, and natural gas. 

“About 40% of crude imports, 90% of LPG imports, and nearly 65% of natural gas supplies are linked to the region. However, every effort is being made to ensure smooth domestic availability of petroleum products,” she said.  

To stabilise supplies, refinery LPG production has been increased to around 50,000 tonnes per day. Sharma said nearly 7.99 lakh PNG connections have already been gasified while infrastructure for another 2.87 lakh connections is ready. More than 8.27 lakh consumers have also registered for PNG connections. 

On domestic LPG distribution, she said around 1.72 crore cylinders were delivered over the last four days against bookings of 1.66 crore cylinders, with 95% of deliveries completed using authentication codes. LPG distributors also operated on Sunday to ensure uninterrupted supply.

Fertiliser availability remains comfortable

Meanwhile, Aparna S. Sharma, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Chemical & Fertilizers, said fertiliser availability in the country remains comfortable ahead of the peak Kharif season. 

Against the annual requirement estimate of 390.54 lakh metric tonnes, current fertiliser stocks stand at 200.12 lakh metric tonnes, accounting for over 51% of projected demand, significantly higher than the usual level of around 33%, she said. 

Since the onset of the crisis, domestic fertiliser production has reached about 95 lakh metric tonnes, while imports worth 22.6 lakh metric tonnes have also arrived in the country, taking the total addition to availability to 117.6 lakh metric tonnes. 

The government has also secured supplies of 13.5 lakh metric tonnes of DAP and 9 lakh metric tonnes of NPK complexes to ensure adequate availability during the sowing season. 

Separately, Randhir Jaiswal, Spokesperson, Ministry of External Affairs, highlighted the importance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent visit to the UAE on May 15, saying the trip strengthened India’s energy security. 

Jaiswal said several agreements signed during the visit would help secure LPG supplies and strengthen India’s strategic petroleum reserves while also facilitating fresh investments from the UAE into India. “Our missions in the region remain in touch with the Indian diaspora for their welfare and well-being. We are also extending all possible assistance to the seafaring community present in large numbers across the Gulf region,” he added.