Parliamentary Committee Warns of Energy Security Risks Amid Geopolitical Tensions

A parliamentary committee has urged the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas to expedite the second phase of India's Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) programme to strengthen the country's energy security.

The Committee on Public Undertakings also recommended that the ministry continue coordinating with the Ministry of External Affairs to secure more favourable investment terms and greater regulatory stability for overseas exploration assets.

India imports nearly 89 percent of its crude oil requirement, leaving it vulnerable to geopolitical disruptions. To address this issue, the government has established SPR facilities with a combined storage capacity of 5.33 million metric tonnes (MMT) at Visakhapatnam, Mangaluru, and Padur.

The committee expressed concern over the disconnect between rising capital expenditure and declining domestic crude oil production, which is estimated to have declined to 28.7 MMT in 2024-25 from 34.2 MMT in 2018-19 despite higher investments in the upstream sector.