India's energy transition will depend as much on energy security as on cleaner fuels, Indian Oil Corp. Ltd’s (IOC) director of marketing Saumitra Srivastava said, highlighting the need to ensure reliable supplies for the world's most populous country amid geopolitical disruptions and rising energy demand.
“For any meaningful transition, I think energy security is very essential… India’s crude oil import has diversified over the years to cover approximately 40 sources now,” Srivastava said at the recently held Mint Sustainability Summit 2026 in Mumbai. “And we are also strengthening our core of oil and gas business by making the operations clean and by using biofuels in our refinery,” he added.
State-owned Indian Oil is the country’s largest oil marketing company with approximately 43,000 fuel retail outlets.
India faced acute energy security concerns during the early months of the West Asia war that started late February. The conflict between the US and Iran led to the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz—a crucial waterway through which nearly a fifth of global energy shipments pass—that caused a spike in global crude oil prices.
Every $1 per barrel rise in crude oil prices translates into an increase of around ₹16,000 crore to the annual import bill of India that ships in around 90% of its crude oil demand. India imported oil worth $109.5 billion in fiscal year 2026, according to the government’s Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell.
“India today stands at a very critical juncture as we are one of the fastest growing economies... The demand for energy is also rising. People are looking for better mobility, people want better comfortable homes, efficient industries and better opportunities,” Srivastava said.
“We are also facing headwinds in the way of geopolitical uncertainty, climate concerns, technology disruption and energy security challenges, which are unfolding all together,” he said.
“So, actually what do we need? The real question actually is how do we get this energy in an affordable, secure, accessible and a sustainable way,” he said on the issue of reimagining energy in the evolving times.
Gearing up for green
Srivastava said Indian Oil currently operates 10 refineries with a capacity of 80.5 million tonnes per annum, which will rise to 98 million in the next two years, in an effort to meet India’s rising demand.
“Refineries are also being modernized. The co-processing of biofeedstocks along with conventional crude is helping reduce carbon intensity without compromising on the reliability of the refineries,” he said.
He said the company has got approvals related to the International Civil Aviation Organization’s Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation, which mandates that all international flights must use a 1% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) blend starting January 2027. To be sure, 1% SAF is a blend of 99 parts of convention jet fuel with one of ‘neat SAF,’ made from renewable or waste feedstock.
Indian Oil produces SAF at its Panipat refinery, and is also on track to meet the 2% SAF blend target for 2028, Srivastava said.
“We have been able to get the certification for SAF production, and we have signed agreements with Air India and Akasa Air to support these SAF blending targets,” he said.
On other green initiatives, Srivastava said, to support the adoption of electric mobility, Indian Oil has set up 14,000 electric vehicle chargers across the country, and more than 1,000 battery swapping stations on the Golden Quadrilateral route for faster turnaround times in charging electric vehicles.
Liquified natural gas (LNG) is also emerging as a clean mobility solution for heavy-duty trucks, effectively reducing carbon emissions in the logistics sector, he said, adding that green hydrogen can emerge as a silver bullet in mobility solutions as well as in sectors such as cement and steel manufacturing.
As its clients take the energy transition curve, Indian Oil is itself greening its operations, said Srivastava.
“We are also embedding this sustainability in our day-to-day operations. All our refineries are now shifted from fuel oils to LNG for enabling cleaner fuel,” he said. “The heating in heaters, boilers and turbines happens through the LNG and through such energy conservation initiatives, we have been able to save about 1 million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide last year.”