India looks for alternative energy sources amid Strait of Hormuz disruption

A government source revealed on Tuesday that India is looking for alternative sources of crude oil, liquefied petroleum and natural gas in order to be prepared if the conflict in the Middle East continues for more than 15 days.

The shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, between Iran and Oman - which carries a fifth of the oil and gas consumed worldwide - has come to a halt. This is after Iranian vessels were attacked in response to U.S.

Source: The government monitors the situation constantly and is "reasonably certain that another window will be opened if one source shuts down", according to the source.

He said that Indian refiners processed about 5.6 millions barrels of crude per day, with about 40% of their crude imports going through the Strait of Hormuz.

South Asia has enough crude to last for 25 days. He said that refiners also hold a 25-day supply of gasoline, gasoil and liquefied petrol gas.

The situation is different for natural gas. India only has a few days' worth of LNG left after Qatar, its biggest supplier,?halted LNG output on Monday.

He said that if Qatar does not open within a few days, we might have to look for alternative options and take other measures.

Indian companies have already cut gas supply to certain industrial customers as of Monday.

Source did not say whether Indian refiners will increase their purchases of Russian oil.

Indian refiners have'reduced their purchases of Russian crude oil in recent months to avoid punitive tariffs placed by President Donald Trump, and help New Delhi secure an interim trade agreement with Washington. Reporting by Nidhi verma. Editing by YPrajesh and Alison Williams.

(source: Reuters)