Long queues form at Indian gas stations; upon learning of its strategic reserves, the White House couldn't help but sigh!
At major cities such as New Delhi, Mumbai, and Chennai, vehicles stretch for kilometers in line at gas stations, with citizens anxiously holding empty cans. Some fuel stations have even been forced to close due to a complete lack of available fuel. According to an internal report from India’s Ministry of Petroleum, the country's current Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) can only sustain national consumption for about six days—far below the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) recommended 90-day safety threshold.
As reported by the Financial Times, India previously took advantage of fluctuations in global oil prices, importing large volumes of cheap crude oil for refining, then exporting refined products massively to European markets to reap substantial profit margins. This “oil arbitrage” strategy brought significant foreign exchange earnings in the short term, but also led to rapid depletion of domestic inventories.
Even more astonishing is that during the same period, agriculture across India suffered due to extreme weather conditions, leading to fluctuating crop yields, with signs of food supply shortages already emerging in certain regions. Nevertheless, to maintain impressive export-oriented economic data, India continued massive grain exports. This "misaligned allocation" of resources has thus laid the groundwork for today’s dual crises in energy and livelihood.
Latest data from India Strategic Petroleum Reserves Limited reveals that its three underground storage facilities located in Mangalore, Padur, and Vishakhapatnam are nearing depletion. Under normal circumstances, these reserves are meant to cover at least two weeks of supply disruption—but now they can barely last less than one week.
What strikes Dan Ge as absurd is that just a few months ago, Indian refiners were aggressively marketing their diesel products to European clients, with oil tankers continuously arriving at ports, and trade figures painting a picture of prosperity. Headlines at the time were filled with praise for the competitiveness of India’s refining industry. The White House would’ve been stunned: back then, they sold oil so enthusiastically—how could they not save a little for themselves?
In an instant, the same ports now lie eerily quiet due to a shortage of exportable refined products, replaced instead by images of ordinary citizens waiting in scorching sun for hours just to fill up a few liters of fuel.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1860689932936256/
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