As the ongoing conflict in West Asia is impacting India’s cooking gas (LPG) supply, the government on Tuesday said it is loading liquefied petroleum gas onto empty Indian vessels stranded in the Persian Gulf. Rajesh Kumar Sinha, Special Secretary in the Shipping Ministry, said that a vessel had exited dry dock and would be fully loaded with LPG in three to four days. At present, five tankers carrying 230,000 tonne of LPG are in the Strait of Hormuz. According to him, eight LPG carriers, four crude oil ships, and one liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker are among 24 Indian-flagged vessels stranded in the Persian Gulf due to the blockage of movement in the Strait of Hormuz.
Amid reports of crowds at petrol pumps in Gujarat, the government said there is no dry-out at any of the one lakh petrol pumps across the country. Sujata Sharma, Joint Secretary in the Petroleum Ministry, urged people not to hoard fuel, citing Gujarat, and assured that there are sufficient supplies of petrol and diesel.
She also said that refineries are operating at high capacity with adequate crude availability and sufficient supplies of petrol, diesel, and LPG, with all retail outlets functioning normally. “We have around one lakh petrol pumps, and almost all are operating normally with full stock available. There is no shortage in Gujarat either, with sufficient supplies of petrol and diesel,” Sharma said.
Sinha also mentioned that two LPG carriers — Pine Gas and Jag Vasant — carrying over 90,000 metric tonnes of LPG have safely crossed the conflict-affected Strait of Hormuz on March 23 and are expected to reach India in the coming days.
According to a report, Reliance Industries, operator of the world’s largest refining complex, has purchased 5 million barrels of Iranian crude, days after the U.S. temporarily eased sanctions on the oil, according to three sources familiar with the matter. Iranian oil, which in recent years has mainly been bought by Chinese independent refiners, is often rebranded as originating from another country.
After temporarily easing sanctions on Russian crude, the US has issued a 30-day waiver allowing the purchase of Iranian oil already at sea. According to the US, the waiver applies to oil loaded on any vessel, including tankers under sanctions, on or before March 20 and discharged by April 19.
Iran was among India’s top suppliers before US sanctions on its crude, after which India halted imports. This would mark India’s first purchase of Iranian oil since May 2019, months after Washington reimposed sanctions on Tehran.