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Page 8 - The Indian EYE 071026
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    The Indian Eye
                                            OPINION                                                                                          8
                                                                                                                         JULY 10, 2026

                            Riding out Hormuz:

              How we kept the lights on

                At the peak of war, when no vessel was moving out of Hormuz, over 12 Indian LPG vessels were

                   quietly moved out of the strait without any toll payment, the largest number for any country

                   HARDEEP SINGH PURI

                     hen  the  Strait  of  Hormuz
                     closed in February-end,
            Wthe  Government  of  India
            (GoI) made it a priority that Indian
            citizens,  especially  the  most  vulner-
            able, be  protected  from unprece-
            dented supply and price disruptions.    Almost four months into the largest energy disruption of our times, India did not have to take any emergency rationing measures
            That move has held through almost 4
            months later.
                A country importing more than   from Yanbu and Fujairah ports down   through  faster  municipal  permis-  billion recorded in the very week the
            85% of its crude, the argument ran,   the Red Sea route. Vessels were sent   sions. Between February and June,   conflict  began,  with  the  economy
            could not survive closure of Hormuz   inside  Hormuz  to  get  new  cargoes,   international benchmark for cooking   growing at 7.8% last quarter.
            through which more than 20-30% of   and fresh supply lines were opened   gas,  Saudi  CP,  rose  by  nearly  50%.   As for oil reserves, energy locked
            the world’s hydrocarbons move. To-  with  several  countries  like  Algeria,   But a cylinder that would cost more   underground  earns  nothing  and
            day, stocks are full, pumps are open,   Japan  and  Canada.  Every  producer   than `1,600 at import-linked rate still   costs a great deal to hold. So, it’s run
            and the Indian consumer has paid   India had ever dealt with, within the   reaches an Ujjwala home at  `642.   through  a  system  of  import  termi-
            less for energy through this crisis than   Gulf and outside it, stood with it.  GoI  absorbs  roughly  `900 loss on   nals, depots, pipelines, refineries and
            any other consumer in the world.      But demand also had to be priori-  each Ujjwala cylinder, and close to   storages  spread  across  the  country.
                Nearly 60% of India’s LPG con-  tised. Digital authentication code was   `600 on every cylinder going to every   India  today  has  24  refineries,  more
            sumption used to be supplied from   made mandatory to prevent diversion   other household. So, every Indian   than 47,000 km of oil and gas pipe-
            West Asia. Much of that supply, al-  of cooking gas by black marketers. A   family today pays much less for their   lines, and over 100,000 petrol pumps
            most overnight, dropped to zero. On   25-day and 45-day limit was imposed,   cooking gas than households in other   that serve nearly 80 million people
            the supply side, LPG Control Order   so  that  every  citizen  got  cylinders   countries.            every day.
            was passed on March 8, which man-  without anyone able to hoard them.   A bold central excise cut of `10   Almost four months into the
            dated all refineries to divert all their   As commercial cylinders are not   a litre in March absorbed substantial   largest  energy  disruption  of  our
            C3-C4 carbon streams to maximise   regulated  and  any  one  buyer  could   part of the price shock, as crude had   times, India did not have to take any
            LPG  production.  Refineries  that   have  bought  entire  supplies  avail-  nearly doubled and PSU oil compa-  emergency rationing measures. This
            had  never  made  cooking  gas  were   able at once, it was routed through   nies absorbed daily losses running to   was possible only because the ground
            reconfigured within a few days, and   industry associations and state civil   over `5-10 bilion through this quar-  had been prepared in the years be-
            production was raised from 35 TMT   supplies departments. Industry was   ter. Across those same months, pet-  fore. The widening of India’s crude
            a day to 54 TMT a day.            moved onto piped natural gas, large   rol at US pumps rose by more than   basket from 27 countries to 41, the
                At the peak of war, when no ves-  kitchens and establishments encour-  40%, and in Britain by close to 20%,   doubling  of  import  terminals,  and
            sel was moving out of Hormuz, over   aged to fall back on other fuels wher-  with  double-digit  increases  across   pipelines and reserves built across a
            12 Indian LPG vessels were quietly   ever possible, and household piped   much of Europe. The rise in Indian   decade were not abstractions when
            moved out of the strait without any   gas and CNG were kept in the ‘no-  pumps was held to around 7%.  Hormuz closed. They were the very
            toll payment, the largest number for   cut’ category.                   India’s foreign reserves stand at   reasons the lights stayed on.
            any  country.  Cargoes  were  secured   GoI  came  together  to  enable   near $690 billion, down only modest-  The Author is India’s Minister for
            and ship-to-ship transfers were done   a  shift  to  piped  gas  connections   ly from the all-time high of $728.49   Petroleum and Natural Gas

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