Reuters reported, citing a Russian source, that Russia is ready to assist India with energy supplies in the event of any outage.
The offer comes even as the conflict in West Asia widens, with India on Tuesday stressing the need to ensure the safety of one million Indian citizens in the region.
In a statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs, India also cited consequences for the Indian economy due to potential disruptions in energy supply. The West Asia region was plunged into conflict after the United States and Israel launched joint strikes against Iran, killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Tehran then launched retaliatory attacks on US military installations and other landmarks in the Gulf states.
As the attacks continued for a fourth day on Tuesday, Iran closed the strategically located shipping route in the Strait of Hormuz, which in turn sent oil prices higher. The Associated Press reported that the narrow passage in the Persian Gulf is crucial, given that a fifth of all oil traded passes through it.
Pointing this out in its statement, India said, “Our trade and energy supply chains also cross this geography. Any major disruption has dire consequences for the Indian economy.”
Nearly 50% of India’s crude oil imports and about 54% of its liquefied natural gas supplies pass through the Strait of Hormuz. It is a transit route for liquefied natural gas from Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
Qatar, the largest supplier of imported natural gas to India, declares force majeure
Qatar, the largest supplier of imported natural gas to India, declared force majeure after it halted production following an Iranian drone strike, news agency PTI reported.
Force majeure essentially exempts the parties involved from any contractual term under exceptional and unforeseen circumstances. This disruption reduced supplies to the Indian industry by up to 40 percent, according to PTI. Qatar supplies about 40 percent of the approximately 27 million tons of liquefied natural gas that India imports annually.
Petronet LNG, a gas importer, informed gas marketers in Qatar that it would stop production. The agency stated that Petronet buys 8.5 million tons annually of liquefied natural gas from Qatar under a long-term contract.
