‘Chase every drop of oil, gas because…’: ONGC chief’s warning as Hormuz closure continues

ONGC Chairman and CEO Arun Kumar Singh said on Friday that the notion of easy access to Gulf energy is under threat due to the West Asia war and the halt in vessel movements through the Strait of Hormuz. He urged India to diversify its energy sources quickly, expand strategic oil and gas reserves, as well as increase the domestic production of oil, gas, and coal amid global volatility.

Speaking at an industry event in Delhi, Singh said, “I now firmly believe that thinking that the Middle East is nearest to us, and therefore we have access to all their resources — that assumption should be taken with a pinch of salt.” He warned that the conflict may not be temporary but a recurring issue because of deep ideological and internal divisions in the region.

The Strait of Hormuz has been effectively closed by Iran for two months, causing the worst energy supply crisis in decades. Approximately one-fifth of global oil and gas transit through this critical maritime passage connecting the Persian Gulf to the Arabian Sea, with much of these supplies destined for Asian countries including India.

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India depends on imports for over 88% of its crude oil, with 40% of these supplies passing through the Strait of Hormuz. For natural gas, India’s import dependency is around 50%, and 55–60% of liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports come via this route. India’s liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) imports stand at 60%, with 90% of those shipments passing through the waterway.

Singh expressed concerns about the physical vulnerability of energy infrastructure in West Asia, noting that modern precision weapons can disable refineries by targeting key units such as crude distillation units. The recent conflict has seen multiple such precision attacks using drones and missiles.

He added, “We should chase wherever oil or gas is in our country at any cost, because in a crisis nobody will help.” While India is intensifying oil and gas exploration, especially in deep-water areas, Singh emphasised the need to do more to secure energy supplies amid evolving global challenges.

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He said, “As the world gets more and more ‘deglobalised’, there are bound to be more problems at hand for energy importers like India.” Singh also remarked that no one expected the Strait of Hormuz to close, saying, “Had that been the case, nobody would have invested so much in countries like Qatar.” He described a fundamental paradigm shift where the globalised order of the past 30 years is ending, potentially leading to a war of supremacy among competing powers.

Due to the supply disruption, India had to reduce natural gas and LPG supplies to some industries while prioritising households and critical sectors. Singh highlighted the need for contingency planning, noting that the global energy sector had assumed increasing globalisation, a hypothesis now challenged by recent events