India's Oil supplies secure amidst Israel-Palestine conflict, minister

India's Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister, Hardeep Puri, reassured the public that the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict would not impact crude oil supplies to India. Despite a 3% rise in oil prices, reaching $87 per barrel due to the conflict between Israel and Hamas, Puri stated that India would continue to receive its oil supplies. He emphasised that the global energy industry's focal point was the site of the conflict, and India was vigilantly monitoring the situation. Puri acknowledged that the world was not facing a crude oil shortage; the challenge lay in the artificial production cuts by OPEC+ countries, led by Saudi Arabia and Russia, which were elevating oil prices and causing economic difficulties for oil-importing nations like India.

Puri underscored concerns about potential disruptions in sea transport or escalation of the conflict impacting oil supplies and prices. Refinery executives shared similar worries about daily price fluctuations, with a preference for stable monthly average prices. The impact of sustained high prices could lead to reduced marketing margins for refiners, considering the challenges in revising domestic retail prices. The situation remained unpredictable due to the involvement of various regional powers like Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey, each with their geopolitical ambitions, complicating the conflict beyond the immediate parties involved.