India Oil Imports

Both ​China and India, Asia's top energy consumers, source around half of their crude imports from the West Asia, but India has far less oil in storage than its neighbor

Iran-Israel conflict: Rising tensions in West Asia put India's oil supplies, trade routes and millions of workers in Gulf nations at risk, raising concerns over remittance flows and safety

With crude inventories sufficient to meet at least 10 days of requirements and fuel stocks covering another 5-7 days, India is unlikely to face any near-term disruption in oil supplies from the closure of the key supply route of the Strait of Hormuz, officials said. Even as rapidly unfolding developments, following US and Israeli military strikes on Iran, including the reported killing of the Islamic Republic's Supreme Leader, suggest the conflict may not last very long, New Delhi has contingency plans in place should tensions escalate, top officials and analysts said. Iran's state media said on February 28 that the Islamic Republic has shut the Strait of Hormuz - one of the world's most critical energy chokepoints through which about a fifth of global oil and gas supplies transit - in response to US and Israeli missile strikes. The closure for a short duration will not have much impact on India as it already has supplies to meet fuel requirements, they said, adding that in the even

Four years after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Western measures to restrict Russian crude oil flows are beginning to have a real impact as the Trump administration steps up pressure on India

India's crude import strategy is entering a phase of calibrated rebalancing rather than abrupt realignment, with Middle Eastern suppliers led by Saudi Arabia regaining market share even as Russian volumes remain significant but increasingly shaped by geopolitics and compliance constraints, according to shipping data and analysts. During February 1-18, India's total crude imports averaged 4.85 million barrels per day (bpd), down 8 per cent from January's 5.25 million bpd, as flows from Russia cooled following US sanctions on key Russian exporters and the European Union's 18th sanctions package coming into effect last month. Ship tracking data showed Russian shipments to India declining from 1.28 million bpd in December 2025 to 1.22 million bpd in January and further to around 1.09 million bpd in early February, down about 10 per cent month-on-month. "Russian crude imports into India are estimated at around 1.0-1.2 million bpd in February, easing toward roughly 800,000 bpd to 1 millio

The crude was bought in two separate deals and will be co-loaded on a very large crude carrier to cut shipping costs, lifting India's Venezuelan imports to at least 6 million barrels through April

New ‌Delhi has not officially announced plans to halt Russian oil imports

Officials of Indian refiners evaluating Russian crude alongside other grades from Brazil, Angola and UAE

The MEA said India is open to sourcing crude from Venezuela and other countries based on commercial viability, adding that energy security for 1.4 billion people remains its top priority

After India-US trade deal, Kremlin says India has always bought oil from many countries; Moscow sees India's plan to diversify oil supplies as nothing new or surprising

Along with price discounts, India must replace around 1.7 million barrels per day of average Russian crude imports

Indian companies have already booked cargoes loading in February and arriving in March, so a wind-down period would be needed to fulfil existing commitments

Donald Trump claimed India will buy Venezuelan oil instead of Iranian crude as Washington moves to cut Russia-linked oil trade and ease some sanctions on Venezuela

The US effort to supply Venezuelan crude to India comes as Washington also seeks to reduce Russian oil revenues that are funding the war in Ukraine

Reliance last received Russian crude in December after securing a one-month US concession that allowed it to wind down dealings with the sanctioned Russian oil producer Rosneft

The Trump administration is weighing a Russia sanctions bill by Senator Lindsey Graham that would allow the US to impose tariffs of at least 500 per cent on countries that continue buying Russian oil

India is diversifying its crude slate by stepping up purchases from traditional suppliers such as Iraq and Saudi Arabia

Recent geopolitical developments have seen record fuel supplies, expanded discounts on oil and robust domestic appetite for fuel

On January 3, the US launched a large-scale operation in Venezuela's capital Caracas and captured President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores

India on Friday said it is closely following developments relating to a proposed American legislation that seeks to impose up to 500 per cent tariff on countries procuring Russian crude oil. India and China are among a handful of countries which are procuring a significant volume of crude oil from Russia. US Senator Lindsey Graham, the author of the bill, said this week that President Donald Trump has green-lighted the proposed legislation. "We are aware of the proposed bill. We are closely following the developments," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said at his weekly media briefing here. "Our position on the larger question of energy sourcing is well known." "In this endeavour, we are guided by the evolving dynamics of the global market and by the imperative to secure affordable energy from diverse sources to meet the energy security needs of our 1.4 billion people," he said.