India Well-Positioned To Meet Its Fuel Needs: Minister Amid Mideast Tensions

As global oil markets remained volatile due to rising geopolitical tensions, Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Hardeep Singh Puri on Monday reviewed India's petroleum supply situation with top officials of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas and executives from state-run oil companies.

Mr Puri said that despite global uncertainty, India was well-positioned to meet its fuel requirements, thanks to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership.

In a post on X, Mr Puri said, "In the increasingly volatile geopolitical situation, reviewed the petroleum products supply situation with @PetroleumMin officials and our PSU OMCs."

He emphasised India's strategic preparedness in managing fuel security and ensuring stable supplies. "Under the visionary leadership of PM @narendramodi Ji, we have diversified our import basket substantially and are comfortably placed to meet our fuel supply needs," the minister added.

As oil is on the boil, all eyes are on the ball…
In the increasingly volatile geopolitical situation, reviewed the petroleum products supply situation with @PetroleumMin officials and our PSU OMCs. Under the visionary leadership of PM @narendramodi Ji, we have diversified our… pic.twitter.com/J58LSEC2cV

— Hardeep Singh Puri (@HardeepSPuri) June 16, 2025

The meeting included representatives from major public sector oil marketing companies such as Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL), Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL), and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL).

As India is putting in all kinds of effort to ramp up its own traditional fossil-based energy production, and the latest push is to dig deep in the Andaman region. Earlier in the day, talking to ANI, Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Puri outlined several measures the government has been taking over the years for exploration and production. He also noted the exploration in the Andamans is pointing to "good news" and may end up becoming India's 'Guyana moment'.

The minister said India has 3.5 million square kilometres of sedimentary basin, but it never explored beyond eight per cent area, keeping a large expanse of sea beds untapped and unexplored.

Mr Puri said that it is their government which had decided to explore a large part of the basin."There were parts of the sedimentary basin which were no-go areas. So one of the decisions which we took was that 1 million square kilometres of that sedimentary basin, which was no-go area, has suddenly been made available for E&P," the minister said.

So far in the nine round of open acreage licensing policy, 38 per cent of the bids came in that 1 million square kilometres and the Minister expects that in the next round -- for which work is going on right now - will attract more than 75 per cent of the bids."We've also issued some of the largest bids on offer anywhere -- something like 2.5 lakh square kilometres of area has been offered out on bidding," the minister said.

The minister said that India has the potential of something around 42 billion tonnes of oil and gas equivalent in its sedimentary basins.

Exploring offshore reserves are capital extensive, and which is why it took so much time for India to tap the untapped potential under its seas.

"An onshore well costs something like USD 4 million on average. I'm talking about global rates and dollar rates being held at a particular constant. And an offshore well costs about USD 100 million," he supplemented.ONGC, which is India's premier company for exploration and production, has dug the largest number of wells in nearly four decades this year, the minister said.

As tensions in West Asia rise, India faces growing threats to its energy security, trade routes, and commercial ties. The report states that the intensifying Israel-Iran conflict could have serious consequences for India's economy.

India has major trade exposure with both nations. In FY2025, India exported goods worth USD 1.24 billion to Iran and imported goods worth USD 441.9 million. Trade with Israel is even larger, with USD 2.15 billion in exports and USD 1.61 billion in imports. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)