In response to the Israel鈥揑ran war and Strait of Hormuz blockage that has led to rising oil prices, the supply of crude oil has been impacted for both India and the world. But India seems fairly well placed and has enough buffer stocks for 7-8 weeks.
Current Crude oil Storage and Supply Situation (March 2026)
In response to the Israel鈥揑ran war and鈥係trait of Hormuz blockage that has led to rising oil prices, the supply of crude oil has been impacted for both India and the world. But India鈥俿eems fairly well placed and has enough buffer stocks for 7-8 weeks. India has more than 250 million barrels of crude oil and finished oil products鈥俵ike petrol, diesel, LNG, LPG, etc., as per the government data. This amounts to鈥俛bout 4,000 crore litres of fuel reserves. These reserves are not kept in one particular physical form or鈥俛 single location. They are kept in above ground storage tanks, strategic caverns underground, pipeline Infrastructure, terminal storage facilities, and now even offshore storage vessels, employing a mix of methods no doubt to aid supply security and logistically flexibility.
鈥⑻齋trategic Storage Locations: Key Strategic Petroleum Reserves (SPRs) are located at Visakhapatnam, Mangalore, and Padur.
鈥⑻齋upply Security and Diversification: To reduce supply risks, India has increased crude oil imports from Russia, the United States, and African countries, lowering its dependence on the Persian Gulf region. However, around 40% of India鈥檚 oil imports still pass through the Strait of Hormuz, which is currently facing disruptions.
鈥⑻鼵ontingency Measures: The United States has granted India a 30-day waiver to continue importing Russian crude oil, enabling India to secure and purchase shipments that are currently stranded at sea due to logistical and geopolitical challenges.
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The chart indicates a rapid climb in crude oil prices鈥俰n the beginning of March, which increased by about 10% over that of the last week. The鈥俽ise was led by mounting geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, especially the war with Iran, which raised fears that oil supply to the world might be disrupted.
The disruption was compounded by disruptions to shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, a鈥俴ey pathway for moving oil around the world. Tanker movements yet to be determined, rising freight and insurance costs, the possibility of short鈥俿upply created bullish sentiment in crude oil.
Hence, global crude benchmarks rallied鈥俛nd it had a direct impact on Indian crude oil prices, as the country is heavily reliant on crude oil imports. Market players were quick to respond鈥倀o supply risks, pushing prices up in the week.
Energy to Industry Impact Chain 鈥� Middle East Conflict 2026
Current LPG Storage and Supply Situation (March 2026)
Amid disruptions in the Middle East after the outbreak of a new strife, India has begun taking emergency鈥俿teps to ensure its supplies of LPG, with the key shipping lanes such as the Strait of Hormuz coming under restriction. The government has directed鈥倀he state-run refiners 鈥� IOC, BPCL and HPCL 鈥� to enhance LPG production and curtailed use of propane and butane in petrochemicals to guarantee availability of cooking fuel to millions of domestic users. Refineries can out their entire production of LPG by ensuring that no propane or butane streams鈥俛re diverted into petrochemical feedstock or any other downstream product.
鈥⑻齋torage Constraints: India鈥檚 strategic reserves for LPG are not as large as that for crude oil. Existing onshore stockpiles and shipments that have already passed through the Strait of Hormuz are believed to meet domestic鈥俢onsumption only for two to three weeks (21鈥�22 days).
鈥⑻齀mport Reliance: 80-90% of India鈥檚 imports of LPG are from the Middle East - Qatar, UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait - which adds to the volatility of the supply鈥俢hain.
鈥⑻齀ncreasing鈥侾roduction: It has been measuring such as asking producers to 鈥�carry out all possible production鈥� under the PMO that refer to the Petroleum Products (Production Control) order, 1999, while applying the ECA, 1955.
鈥⑻齅anaging Demand: Officials have limited commercial supply of LPG and are keeping a close eye on household consumption to鈥俻revent panic buying that could lead to shortages.
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Strategies for Diversification and Contingency Planning
鈥⑻齀mports from the United States: In line with a 2026 pact, India is to import 2.2 million tonnes of LPG from the US Gulf Coast, meeting about 10 per cent of its annual鈥俤emand and reducing dependence on supplies from the Middle East.
鈥⑻鼶iversifying Places to Get Gas: India is also attempting to source more LPG from the鈥侫tlantic Basin, such as the US, Latin America and Russia. Although products from these鈥俛reas usually need a transit time of 25-45 days.
鈥⑻齀nfrastructure Development: India has established its largest underground LPG storage in Mangalore recently, which provides limited short- term storage back-up,鈥俠ut it falls short to compensate disruptions in long-term supplies.
Besides, over 40% of India's LNG imports is met from Qatar, and recently production in Qatari plants came to a halt and LNG tankers were stranded, making Indian firms pare gas supplies to鈥倀he industry. In some areas, supply reductions have been as much as 40鈥俻ercent.
To鈥俢ope with the deficit, gas to industrial users has been rationed and spot LNG prices have soared to over $25 per million British thermal units (MMBtu).
As part鈥俹f emergency measures, the government of India is mulling re-prioritising the gas supply, which could possibly mean giving a higher priority to critical application areas including fertilizer production and city gas distribution (CNG, piped natural gas/PNG).
Key Regions Affected by LNG Supply Disruptions
In the near term, energy markets are likely to face sharp fluctuations, driven by geopolitical developments, freight costs, and supply disruptions, keeping both global and Indian energy prices sensitive to unfolding events.
