New Delhi, March 07: : India currently holds over 250 million barrels of crude oil and petroleum products, providing a buffer of around seven to eight weeks across the supply chain, senior government sources said on Saturday, seeking to allay concerns about a potential energy crisis amid global geopolitical tensions.
The reserves, equivalent to nearly 4,000 crore litres, are distributed across multiple storage systems including above-ground tanks, underground strategic caverns, pipelines, terminal facilities and cargo vessels in transit, as well as the country’s dedicated strategic petroleum reserve sites at Mangaluru, Padur, and Visakhapatnam.
Officials said India currently maintains adequate stocks of crude oil, petrol, diesel, aviation turbine fuel (ATF), LPG and LNG to handle short-term disruptions while continuing to import energy from a diversified pool of global suppliers.
They also dismissed claims circulating on social media that India has only 25 days of fuel reserves, calling such assertions inaccurate and not reflective of the actual supply position.
According to government sources, India’s current energy security position is the result of more than a decade of strategic policy planning that has strengthened supply diversification and storage capacity.
Officials emphasised that the buffer stocks act as an additional safeguard on top of regular imports, which continue to arrive through multiple maritime routes. Even if shipments through the Strait of Hormuz were disrupted, the impact would be limited because a majority of India’s crude imports do not transit through that route.
Currently, around 40% of India’s crude imports pass through the Strait of Hormuz, while roughly 60% are routed through other corridors, ensuring supply continuity even during global disruptions.
