Source: India wants US marine coverage for Middle East energy cargoes
India and the United States are in discussions to secure marine coverage for vessels that ship oil from the Middle East. New Delhi is seeking to protect buyers from possible supply disruptions due to the Gulf crisis.
The official who didn't want to be named said that "so far, we are?comfortable." He added that the oil ministry was in talks with major producers and dealers to secure oil, LPG, and LNG.
The U.S. International Development Finance Corporation has been ordered by President Donald Trump to provide financial and political guarantees for the maritime trade in Gulf.
He said that the U.S. Navy would begin to escort vessels through the Strait of Hormuz - the narrow shipping route between Iran and Oman, where around a fifth of the world's oil and gas is normally transported.
India is the third largest oil importer in the world. It imports about 40% of oil and 85-90% of LPG from?the Middle East.
Officials said that India was looking to buy oil from all sources, including Russia, in order to replenish its crude stock. Indian refiners reduced their Russian oil intake in order to help New Delhi seal a deal with Washington.
India has increased its imports of cooking fuel LPG and oil from the United States.
Washington is ready to work with India in order to meet India's energy requirements "short-term as well as long-term," said Christopher Landau at the Raisina Dialog summit in New Delhi.
He said, "We're an energy-rich nation, and we want to work with you. That is a clear area where we can collaborate."
Mangalore Refinery & Petrochemicals Ltd in India has stopped refined fuel exports due to lower energy supply from the Middle East and closed some refinery units.
Qatar, India's biggest LNG supplier, has halted production. Several Indian companies cut gas supply to industries. The official stated that the government can "reprioritise' gas allocation in order to prevent any sector from being closed if supply conditions worsen.
India imports half of the 195 million standard cube metres per day of gas it consumes. Officials said that 60 mmscmd of gas was not available because of the Strait of Hormuz closure and Qatar's force majeure.
He said that India was in discussions with companies such as Sonatrach Petroleum of Algeria, Abu Dhabi's National Oil Co., Total, Vitol and Trafigura, traders, including Total and Vitol for the supply of oil and gas.
Hardeep Singh Puri, the Oil Minister of India, has met with the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to discuss the current state of the oil market. Reporting by Nidhi verma, Editing by Louise Heavens & Susan Fenton
(source: Reuters)
