India's Energy Security Strategy Shifts Focus to Crude Oil, LPG, and LNG

India's energy security has been in focus since the start of the US-Iran conflict. The country aims to increase its strategic petroleum reserve capacity from 5.33 MMT to 11.88 MMT, which is roughly equivalent to 9.5 days of crude oil consumption. However, experts believe that India's strategic petroleum reserve policy should evolve into a broader energy security strategy that covers crude oil, LPG, and LNG.

Experts advocate for a three-tier strategic reserves policy: large physical reserves for crude oil, distributed operational-security reserves for LPG, and a mainly contractual or virtual reserve model for LNG. Pranav Master, Director of Crisil Intelligence, suggests that the government should target a minimum of 30 days of dedicated strategic reserves managed by Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserve Limited (ISPRL) for crude oil.

For LPG, experts recommend regional and inland storage to manage port congestion, monsoon-related disruptions, transport bottlenecks, and local demand spikes. They also suggest mandatory minimum inventories for oil marketing companies and priority allocation rules for households and essential users during supply stress.