New Delhi [India], April 14 (ANI): India’s oil safety framework has come underneath renewed scrutiny following the escalation of tensions in West Asia in 2026, which disrupted international power markets and uncovered vulnerabilities within the nation’s import-dependent power system, in line with a report by Carnegie India.
The West Asia disaster has underscored the necessity for India to maneuver past reactive measures and undertake a extra resilient and forward-looking power safety framework.
The report highlights that India’s present method, based mostly on opportunistic diversification and restricted use of strategic reserves, stays insufficient to deal with sustained provide shocks.
‘India requires increased onshore and offshore storage capacities, together with elevated non-public participation, along with different strategies for assembly home demand,’ the report famous.
Currently, India’s strategic petroleum reserves are estimated to maintain demand for about eight weeks within the occasion of an entire disruption. This is considerably decrease in comparison with main Asian economies equivalent to China (100 days), Japan (254 days), and South Korea (200 days), which keep considerably bigger stockpiles.
Additionally, India’s refinery infrastructure is basically configured for medium-to-heavy crude grades, limiting flexibility in sourcing different provides with out important technological upgrades.
The report notes, ‘Indian refineries would require modifications or infrastructural modifications to course of light-grade oil with out mixing. Such investments might be important to maintain this in the long run.’
Diversifying imports past West Asia to areas such because the United States, West Africa, and Latin America would additionally improve logistical prices and supply timelines, posing extra financial challenges.
To deal with these structural gaps, the report recommends increasing strategic reserves, enhancing storage capability with non-public sector participation, securing long-term provide contracts, and upgrading refinery capabilities.
In the long run, there’s a want for a complete power transition technique, together with the accelerated adoption of renewable power, electrical autos, and biofuels, to scale back dependence on imported crude. (ANI)