A war on the other side of the world is about to change how India stores its gas.
Here's the headline in one line: ONGC is building India's first-ever strategic natural gas reserve — and it's happening because ships have basically stopped moving through the Strait of Hormuz.
Let's back up.
India imports 55% of its natural gas.
That's roughly $15 billion a year, gone the moment a shipping lane gets nervous.
And right now? The lane is very nervous.
On 20 July, only 16 ships passed through the Strait of Hormuz.
Pre-war? Over 130.
Iran's IRGC has effectively shut the route. Yemen's Houthis just blocked the Bab-al-Mandab Strait too — the other artery feeding oil out of Saudi Arabia's Yanbu port.
Two chokepoints. One energy lifeline. Both squeezed.
Not salt caverns — India tried that. Too expensive, too technically messy, never took off.
Instead, ONGC is eyeing something smarter:
One insider put it simply: start with a pilot, run a feasibility survey, and use wells that are already shaped for the job.
Even before the conflict, India was staring down a hard truth — you can diversify oil imports fairly easily.
Gas? Much harder.
Qatar alone supplies about 50% of India's LNG imports. The UAE matters too. Both sit uncomfortably close to the conflict zone.
Countries like the US, China and Germany built strategic gas reserves years ago.
India never did. Until now.
Natural gas is only 7% of India's energy mix today.
The government wants it at 15% by 2030.
Consumption is projected to nearly double by 2040.
You can't scale a fuel you can't secure.
This reserve — paired with ONGC's new 1.75 million-tonne strategic crude storage plan — is India quietly admitting something: energy independence isn't a slogan anymore.
It's an emergency plan.
That's all for now!
