- By Shubham Bajpai
- Tue, 14 Apr 2026 08:53 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
The Iran war in West Asia and the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz have deepened an unprecedented crisis in global oil supply.
Iran's actions have affected 20 per cent of global oil and LNG exports from the Gulf region, pushing Brent crude prices above $120 a barrel.
India has no shortage of crude oil
The impact of the oil crisis is clearly visible in Japan, South Korea, and other major oil importers. Even in this situation, refineries in India, the world's third-largest oil importer, are not facing any significant shortage of crude oil.
Three weeks ago, the government claimed that the country had enough crude oil to meet 74 days of consumption. A report by Jagran.com, citing the latest information, suggested that India still has at least 60 days of reserves, including those at refineries, petrol pumps, and strategic storage.
The report cited sources in the Petroleum Ministry, saying, "Since the start of the West Asia conflict (the first week of March), Indian refineries have been buying crude from wherever they can find it in the world."
"India increased its oil purchases from Russia and the United States several times (compared to previous months) in the last weeks of March and April. These two countries have now become India's top five oil suppliers," the sources further added.
The government hasn't released official data on this matter, but according to reliable sources, India is currently purchasing an average of 2 million barrels from Russia. The previous highest crude purchase from Russia was in April 2023 (2.1 million barrels per day).
Monitoring crude oil stocks
A 24-hour control room has been established to monitor crude oil stocks in the country. While oil procurement is being carried out on a commercial basis by companies like Indian Oil, ONGC, BPCL, HPCL, and Reliance, they are receiving joint support from the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas and the Ministry of External Affairs.
The biggest task for Indian embassies and missions across the world right now is to help Indian companies in energy procurement-related operations.
The result is that countries like Mexico, Brazil, Nigeria, Ghana, and Guyana, which previously only purchased limited quantities of oil, have now emerged as major suppliers. This situation will persist until the situation in West Asia improves.
According to a government report tabled in Parliament in the last week of March, the SPRs (Visakhapatnam, Mangaluru and Padur) were loaded with 3.37 million metric tonnes (64 per cent) of crude oil against their 5.33 million metric tonnes capacity, providing a buffer of about 9.5 days at full capacity.
The remaining approximately 50 days' worth of stock is held by oil companies, oil producers, and petrol pumps. As of April 14th, there has been no significant change in the situation.
According to the latest data available from the PPAC website, total petrol (MS) consumption in FY 2025-26 was 42,586 thousand metric tons, while diesel (HSD) consumption was 94,704 thousand metric tons (approximately 94.70 million metric tons). These figures are provisional and based on monthly data from April 2025 to March 2026.
In March 2026, petrol consumption alone reached 3,779 thousand metric tons and diesel 8,726 thousand metric tons, reflecting robust economic activity. Consumption of petroleum products in the country reached record levels during the last fiscal year, indicating India's growing energy needs and demonstrating that these needs are being met.