Oil minister Hardeep Singh Puri stated on Monday that India will be ready to handle any disruption to oil supply caused by a possible escalation of the Middle East conflict.
About 85% of the oil that India, the third-largest oil user and importer in the world, consumes each day—more than 5 million barrels—comes from producers in the Middle East.
A larger Middle East war and possible disruption to exports from the main oil producing countries have caused a spike in global oil prices, with Brent approaching $80 per barrel.
We are keeping an extremely close eye on the circumstances. “If there is an aggravation (of the Middle East crisis), it can impact energy availability,” Puri stated during the 2024 ExxonMobil Global Energy Outlook launch event.
However, Puri stated that since there is an abundance of oil on the market, India would be able to handle the issue.
There is currently more oil accessible globally than what is needed. There are new vendors in the market too, he said, if certain companies delay making their offerings available.
Due to sluggish global demand, OPEC and its allies, which include Russia, have been known as OPEC+, have been reducing oil supply in recent years in an effort to sustain prices.
The company plans to increase output starting in December.
“I see no shortage of fuel in the world in the short- to medium-term.” We have enough options to exercise and there is sufficient oil accessible. We will continue to guarantee enough availability as we have in the past, according to Puri.
