India expands LNG sourcing to 15 countries amid geopolitical supply risks: Govt
New Delhi, August 10
India has expanded the number of countries from which it sources liquefied natural gas from six to 15 as part of efforts to reduce the risk of supply disruptions caused by geopolitical tensions and maritime transit challenges, the government informed the Rajya Sabha on Monday.
The country has also widened its crude oil sourcing portfolio from 27 countries to 41, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas said in a written reply to an unstarred question on the impact of geopolitical disruptions and transit risks on crude oil and gas supplies.
"This diversification has reduced dependence on any particular country, region or transit route and enhanced India's ability to manage supply disruptions and market volatility," Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Suresh Gopi said in the reply.
The expansion in LNG sourcing is the key new disclosure in the reply. The increase in crude oil sourcing to 41 countries had been disclosed earlier by the government amid disruptions to energy shipments through West Asia.
The ministry said it continuously monitors threats that could disrupt energy supplies and assesses global supply conditions in consultation with public-sector oil and gas companies and other stakeholders.
"Government, in consultation with Public Sector Oil and Gas Companies and other stakeholders, continuously assesses global supply conditions and acts appropriately to ensure uninterrupted availability of crude oil, LNG and petroleum products," the reply said.
The government also outlined plans to increase India's strategic petroleum storage capacity. Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserve Limited has established three strategic petroleum reserve facilities with a combined capacity of 5.33 million metric tonnes of crude oil in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.
In addition, the government has approved two commercial-cum-strategic petroleum reserve facilities with a combined storage capacity of 6.5 million metric tonnes in Odisha and Karnataka.
However, the 6.5-million-tonne capacity is not currently available for use. The projects at Chandikhol in Odisha and Padur in Karnataka were approved in July 2021. The latest reply did not provide their construction progress, completion schedules or expected commissioning dates.
Oil and Natural Gas Corporation is separately developing a strategic petroleum reserve facility with a capacity of 1.75 million metric tonnes in Karnataka. In an earlier Rajya Sabha reply on August 3, the government had said that half of this capacity would be reserved for strategic storage, while the remaining half would be available to ONGC for commercial operations.
— ANI
Reader Comments
Interesting, but I wish the government had shared more details about the progress of those strategic reserves. The 6.5 million tonnes in Odisha and Karnataka was approved in 2021 and still isn't ready? That's a long time. Hope they speed it up.
Finally, some forward thinking! With all the trouble in the Middle East and Red Sea, depending on too few suppliers was risky. Widening to 41 crude oil sources is also reassuring. This is how energy security should be handled.
I appreciate the strategic thinking here, but what about the environmental angle? Expanding LNG sourcing is good for energy security, but shouldn't we also be investing more aggressively in renewables? Just a thought. Otherwise, good initiative.
Impressive progress on diversification! India is clearly learning from global disruptions. The blend of strategic reserves with commercial facilities is a pragmatic approach. Hopefully, the remaining projects get completed soon.
Good to see the government being proactive about energy security. But I'm curious about the cost implications. Diversifying often means paying higher prices, especially with LNG from distant suppliers. Hope the impact on consumers is minimal.
This is reassuring. With Sri Lanka and Bangladesh facing
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