What Happened
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a high-level meeting on March 22, 2026 to review India's energy preparedness amid the ongoing US-Israel war on Iran, which has disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz since late February 2026.
- The meeting was attended by senior Cabinet ministers including Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, Nirmala Sitharaman, S. Jaishankar, Hardeep Puri, and other top officials.
- The review focused on uninterrupted supply of petroleum products, LPG, natural gas, power, and fertilisers across the country, with particular attention to logistics and distribution stability.
- Iran partially controls the Strait of Hormuz and has restricted shipping since the US-Israel strikes began on February 28, 2026; nearly 20% of global energy supplies normally transit this route.
- India has begun procuring oil and gas from alternative suppliers to compensate for reduced West Asian supplies. An additional 20% of commercial LPG was allocated, bringing total commercial LPG allocation to 50%.
Static Topic Bridges
India's Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR)
India established its Strategic Petroleum Reserve programme to provide a buffer against short-term supply disruptions. The Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Limited (ISPRL), a special purpose vehicle under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, operates three underground rock cavern facilities. These are located at Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh, 1.33 MMT capacity), Mangaluru (Karnataka, 1.5 MMT), and Padur (Karnataka, 2.5 MMT) — totalling 5.33 million metric tonnes (approximately 36.92 million barrels). This Phase I reserve provides approximately 9.5 days of consumption coverage. Combined with oil marketing companies' own storage, India's total crude oil and petroleum product storage amounts to approximately 74 days of consumption.
- Phase II expansion: two additional facilities approved in July 2021 — Chandikhol (Odisha, 4 MMT) and additional Padur (2.5 MMT) — to be built on a Public-Private Partnership basis.
- India is one of the few developing countries with a dedicated SPR programme, modelled on the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve and IEA member country reserves.
- India imports approximately 85% of its crude oil needs, making supply disruption preparedness a critical national security concern.
Connection to this news: With Hormuz disruptions cutting off reliable access to West Asian crude (which accounts for ~50-60% of India's oil imports), the government's meeting signalled immediate review of how quickly SPR stocks could compensate and whether Phase II acceleration was needed.
The Strait of Hormuz as an Energy Chokepoint
The Strait of Hormuz is a narrow waterway — approximately 34 km wide at its narrowest point — connecting the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea. It is the world's most critical oil transit chokepoint. In 2024, approximately 20 million barrels per day (mb/d) of petroleum liquids transited the strait, representing about 20% of global petroleum liquids consumption. Around 84% of this crude and condensate flowed to Asian markets, including India, China, Japan, and South Korea. Unlike some other chokepoints, the Strait of Hormuz has no adequate pipeline bypass for the full volume of oil that passes through it.
- Iran and Oman share sovereignty over the strait's waters; both nations' coasts form the narrow passage.
- The strait is deep enough for supertankers (Very Large Crude Carriers); two 3 km-wide shipping lanes exist within the strait.
- Roughly 25% of the world's seaborne oil trade transits Hormuz, making it uniquely vulnerable to military disruption.
- Since February 28, 2026, when the US-Israel strikes began, Iran has allowed only limited shipping movement, causing a near-halt in normal tanker traffic.
Connection to this news: India's dependence on Hormuz transit for Gulf oil — its dominant import source — is why a high-level emergency energy review was convened. Any prolonged closure would require activating alternative sourcing from Russia, US, Africa, and Latin America.
Fertiliser Supply Chain and Import Dependency
India is the world's second-largest consumer of fertilisers. The country imports significant quantities of urea, diammonium phosphate (DAP), and muriate of potash (MOP). Natural gas — a primary feedstock for urea synthesis — and phosphoric acid (for DAP) are both sourced in part from West Asian nations. A disruption in gas supply or shipping logistics through Hormuz directly affects fertiliser availability ahead of the kharif sowing season (June-July), making energy security and food security inter-linked concerns.
- India imports nearly 100% of its potash requirements and a significant share of phosphatic fertilisers.
- Urea is manufactured domestically using natural gas as feedstock; disruptions to LNG imports (many from Qatar and UAE via Hormuz) can affect domestic urea production.
- The government's National Food Security Act (2013) mandates subsidised grain distribution — a commitment that depends on fertiliser supply chains remaining intact.
Connection to this news: The explicit inclusion of fertilisers in the PM's energy security review reflects that the government sees the crisis as threatening not just fuel but also the agricultural input supply chain ahead of the upcoming sowing season.
Key Facts & Data
- Strait of Hormuz: 34 km wide at narrowest point; ~20 million barrels/day oil transit in 2024; ~20% of global petroleum consumption.
- India's oil import dependency: approximately 85% of crude requirements are imported.
- India's SPR Phase I: 5.33 MMT total (Visakhapatnam 1.33, Mangaluru 1.5, Padur 2.5) = ~9.5 days supply.
- Total national storage including OMC stocks: ~74 days of crude oil and petroleum products.
- India's West Asia oil imports: Gulf countries (Saudi Arabia, Iraq, UAE, Kuwait) supply roughly 50-60% of India's crude imports.
- US-Israel strikes on Iran began: February 28, 2026.
- Additional commercial LPG allocation post-crisis: +20%, total raised to 50% of available commercial LPG stock.
- India's fertiliser import bill: approximately ₹1.6-1.8 lakh crore annually (varies with global prices).