New Delhi, Aug 11 (IANS) India is focused on securing its energy needs through diversified sources in order to meet its national priorities amid the supply chain disruptions due to the West Asia conflict, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Tuesday.
“Our energy security, what it is predicated on, is meeting our national priorities, which is securing the needs of our 1.4 billion people,” Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.
“This remains the cornerstone of our energy security approach. And this is what we want to achieve through diversified sources. We want to source our energy through diversified sources,” he told journalists in answer to a query.
The statement comes against the backdrop of the US Senate passing legislation which grants President Donald Trump authority to levy tariffs of up to 100 per cent on goods exported by top buyers of Russian oil, including India.
Western countries see these oil imports helping Russia finance its war against Ukraine.
“As far as tariffs are concerned, talks are ongoing between the United States and India on a bilateral trade agreement,” the MEA spokesperson added.
India has diversified its sources for the import of crude oil to 41 countries compared with 27 earlier, following the outbreak of the Iran war and closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20 per cent of the world’s oil and gas exports transit during normal times.
India’s imports of crude from Russia have shot up, and during July, accounted for more than half of the country’s total oil imports.
Similarly, India has also diversified its liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports from six countries earlier to a total of 15 countries in order to secure its energy supplies.
The US now accounts for a major chunk of these LNG imports.
India imports more than 85 per cent of its crude oil requirement, which makes it crucial for the country to ensure supply chain resilience and access to multiple sources of energy in order to reduce the risk of sudden disruptions during a period of geopolitical uncertainty in which the global energy market has turned highly volatile.
“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 told the Parliament on Monday.
Union Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said that the risks to energy supplies are regularly monitored and global market conditions assessed in coordination with public-sector oil and gas companies and other stakeholders.
–IANS
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