Amid threats in Red Sea, India keeps patrolling options open
New Delhi, January 4
India is fast forwarding plans to stock up more crude in its strategic storage caverns even as it mulls options to minimise the adverse impact of the Houthi threat in the Red Sea.
“We have made it clear. We attach a very high importance to free navigation and free movement of commercial shipping. This is an evolving situation and we are looking at all aspects. We are patrolling the area and keeping a watch. So far, we are not part of any multilateral initiative,” said MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal when asked if India would join a US-led operation in the Red Sea.
India’s strategic petroleum storage (SPR) programme has a total capacity of 53.3 lakh tonnes of crude oil and is located in Visakhapatnam, Mangaluru and Karnataka.
The levels of storage are classified but combined with state reserves; it is understood to be 74 days, which is below the ideal of 90 days of net imports. The storage to maximum capacity will enable India to withstand any possible disruptions in the energy supply chain, especially from the Red Sea route. Under India’s phase two of the SPR programme, an additional 65 lakh tonnes will be created at two more locations.
India is also attempting to purchase crude from Venezuela which had been stopped by the Modi government in 2016 under American pressure. Now with the US lifting some sanctions on Venezuela, India entered into talks with Caracas, which has agreed to ship oil in return for the $600 million as its stake in the San Cristobal Project.
