India Explores Canada as Crude Oil Supplier Amid Deepening Energy Ties

At the Global Energy Show in Calgary, India's High Commissioner Dinesh Patnaik confirmed that India is considering Canada as a potential crude oil supplier, noting that newer Indian refineries are designed to process heavy crude compatible with Canadian grades, and that officials from both countries are meeting regularly on energy sourcing. Separately, India and the UAE are moving to implement agreements signed during PM Modi's recent visit, targeting an expansion of UAE-linked crude storage in India from 5.8 million barrels to 30 million barrels through a mix of existing underground caverns and new infrastructure, with potential commercial arrangements allowing stored crude to be sold to third countries. Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) is also exploring upstream and LNG opportunities in Canada through its international arm XRG, illustrating overlapping India-UAE-Canada energy dynamics. On the domestic front, India's Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has constituted a task force to evaluate how much additional strategic reserve capacity the country needs across crude oil, LPG, and natural gas, and to recommend financing models including public-private partnerships; a report is expected within six to eight weeks. India currently maintains roughly 60 days of combined crude, LPG, and natural gas stocks, though its dedicated strategic petroleum reserve caverns hold only about eight days of crude consumption, underscoring the urgency of expansion. Canada's federal Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson used the Calgary conference to pitch Canada as a reliable, democratic energy supplier in a volatile world, though a major oilsands CEO warned that the industrial carbon tax and the conditions tied to a proposed West Coast pipeline make large-scale investment difficult to justify.