Tbh, this advisory felt like that meme of Robert Downey Jr. saying “Haaaaash.”

This advisory follows widespread concern due to the recent spike in geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and Iran, as well as the overall instability in the West Asian region, as some countries have been threatening to close down the Strait of Hormuz. 

This is an essential sea route for approximately 20% of the world’s oil supply. As some were speculating online that there could be fuel shortages in India, the government did respond quickly.

In its advisory, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas reassured citizens that there are “adequate supplies” of petrol and diesel at retail stations throughout India. The Ministry also requested that citizens do not panic buy or hoard excessive amounts of petrol or diesel. In addition, the government directed citizens not to store petrol or diesel in loose or unsuitable containers, as this poses a significant risk to public safety.

What does the Government advisory include? 

The Government issued an advisory following reports that people were filling containers intended for fuel storage with petrol (as opposed to fuel containers) at some local retail sites. One occurrence, as an example, was in Tamil Nadu; a local petrol station was observed to have customers filling petrol storage containers to take home.

According to reports, officials from the Tamil Nadu Government have already investigated this site, fined the supplier and suspended them.

The Ministry will impose strict penalties and take action against all retailers who are found to be disregarding safety regulations.

Storage of fuel outside of approved containers is extremely dangerous! 

Surprise surprise? (inserts crying emojis).

This is because first of all, petrol is highly combustible, and therefore, any minor ignition (ex. spark) or heat (ex. heat from the sun) could ignite the fuel and cause an explosion and/or fire. As such, the Government is simply addressing the issue of being “fearful” or “thinking there could be a shortage of fuel,” and in doing so, the Government is attempting to prevent potential life-threatening accidents from occurring.

As a result of their efforts, all retail dealers have been instructed to adhere to safety guidelines regarding fuel dispensing methods and procedures throughout Canada.

“There is No Shortage of Kerosene, Diesel, or Aviation Fuel in India and There is No Shortage in India of Aviation Fuel.”

Union Minister for Petroleum, Hardeep Singh Puri, also reported in Parliament that “There is no shortage of petrol, diesel, kerosene, ATF or fuel oil.”

He added that the availability of these fuels across the country is “fully assured.”

He admitted that due to the current conflicts in the Middle East, the whole world is facing an “unprecedented global situation.” 

Nevertheless, he stated that it was evident that India would have its energy security.

In addressing this “crisis” across the globe, Puri stated that the world is experiencing a crisis that the world has never experienced in history and noted that India has no involvement in the Middle East conflict, but at the same time, it is forced to deal with the global economic ramifications of that conflict.

Despite all the challenges faced by India today, including the economic ramifications of the Middle East conflict, the Indian government remains confident that it will have access to sufficient amounts of crude oil.

Why did India suddenly diversify its energy sources? 

One key strategy highlighted by the government is the diversification of crude oil sources.

In the past, India has imported crude oil from just under 30 different countries. Currently, India imports from approximately 40 countries. According to the government, this diversification provides India with the ability to reduce its dependency on any specific region and allows for stability, should one or more regions of the world experience disruptions in the supply of crude oil.

The country has been able to sustain a consistent flow of crude oil in the face of global disruptions due to this strategy.

The Minister also pointed to the diplomatic outreach made by Prime Minister Modi as a means to enhance India’s energy security. 

As a result of this effort, India was able to secure crude oil volumes higher than those that would have come from the disrupted Strait in the same period of time.

LPG Supply Concerns

There have also been rumours of shortages of petrol and diesel, as well as reports of short-term disruptions in LPG supplies. These disruptions have adversely affected restaurants and commercial users in a few areas.

The government has stated that it is working to resolve these issues and that they should not be viewed as a national shortage.

The authorities have also put measures in place to help prevent the black market and hoarding of petroleum products.

How did it turn political? 

The fuel situation has become politically charged. Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat has accused the Congress party of attempting to create controversy over a potential fuel crisis.

In response to these accusations, Mr. Shekhawat stated that the opposition does not have anything to complain about and is trying to create a controversy where there is none.

He further stated that the focus of the government should be on facts and not speculation.