Page 2 - Oil Imports

Hormuz reopening may ease India's oil worries, curb inflation risks

A reopening or normalization of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz would provide significant relief for India, one of the world's largest crude importers, by easing concerns over oil supplies, lowering freight costs and reducing pressure on inflation. The narrow waterway between Iran and Oman handles roughly a fifth of global oil consumption and serves as the primary export route for major Gulf producers, including Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar - all key energy suppliers to India. Supply of crude oil - the raw material for making fuels like petrol and diesel - and natural gas - the feedstock used to generate electricity, produce fertiliser, turned into CNG to run automobiles and piped to household kitchens for cooking - through the strait was disrupted since the start of Iran in the end of February. This triggered sharp increases in crude oil prices, shipping insurance premiums and freight rates. Industry sources and analysts said the reopening an

Oil and gas supply woes may persist despite US-Iran peace deal: Experts

High oil and gasoline prices and energy supply problems won't be solved overnight, despite an agreement to end the Iran war and open the Strait of Hormuz announced Sunday. It will likely take months before energy companies can resume operations to the point of meeting the world's demand, according to energy experts. The slow pace of the process of shipping and refining crude oil, and doubts about the security of traveling through the strait mean the effect won't be seen immediately, they said. Ships loaded with crude oil have been stranded in the Persian Gulf for more than three months, unable to safely travel through the waterway, through which about a fifth of the world's oil and gasoline supplies typically traveled before the war began. "It's going to take time for people to feel comfortable and for insurance to be in place ... particularly to get people on the ground to restart some of these assets," said Daniel Evans, global head of fuels and refining research at S&P Global ..

Datanomics: The collapse and return of Venezuela oil trade with India

Venezuela's return as a top crude supplier highlights how oil alone has shaped India-Venezuela trade, from a $14-billion peak to near-collapse and revival

India's edible oil imports rise 6.7% in May to 1.3 mn tonnes: Industry body

India's edible oil imports rose 6.7 per cent in May to nearly 13.39 lakh tonnes mainly due to increase in shipments of crude soyabean oil, according to industry body SEA. Solvent Extractors' Association of India (SEA) on Friday released the May import data for vegetable oils, which comprises edible and non-edible oils. As per the data, edible oils imports increased to 1,338,936 tonnes in May this year from 1,254,883 tonnes in the same month last year. This was driven by imports of crude soyabean oil, which rose to 4,93,854 tonnes from 3,98,585 tonnes during the period under review. Inward shipments of non-edible oils jumped over twofold to 26,202 tonnes last month from 12,040 tonnes in May 2025. As a result, India's imports of vegetable oils (edible and non-edible) during May 2026 increased 8 per cent to 13.65 lakh tonnes as compared with 12.67 lakh tonnes in May 2025, the association said. During the first seven months of the 2025-26 oil year, SEA said the total vegetable oil imp

India turns to Latin America, Africa for crude oil amid West Asia crisis

In April and May, Indian refiners raised imports from Venezuela, Brazil, Angola and Nigeria to make up the shortfall, as well as continuing to buy Russian oil

Weekly economy wrap: Fuel price hikes, rupee slide add to CAD pressure

From fuel hikes to a record RBI dividend, the week ending May 24 showed how global oil, imports, heatwaves and policy buffers are shaping India's macro outlook

India's oil trade deficit requires it to tame its demand as well

Reducing oil import dependence requires India to also curb its demand for oil

Govt prepares to send oil tankers through Strait of Hormuz for new supply

India wants to continue importing energy from its traditional West Asia oil producers because supplies from alternate sources would take a longer time to reach the country

Edible oil imports rise 3% in FY26 on Nepal duty-free surge: Industry body

India's edible oil imports rose 3 per cent to 166.51 lakh tonnes in the 2025-26 fiscal year, driven largely by a sharp jump in duty-free imports from Nepal, industry body Solvent Extractors' Association of India (SEA) said on Tuesday. Imports had stood at 161.82 lakh tonnes in the prior fiscal year. Nepal, which enjoys zero-duty access to Indian markets under the South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) agreement, exported 7.36 lakh tonnes of edible oils to India during the year, more than double the 3.45 lakh tonnes shipped in the previous fiscal, a rise of 113 per cent. Refined soybean oil made up the bulk of Nepal's exports to India, with smaller volumes of sunflower oil, RBD Palmolein and rapeseed oil also traded. "The surge in duty-free imports of refined oils from Nepal substantially contributed to the increase in India's total edible oil imports during the year," SEA said in a statement. The association said that without the SAFTA arrangement, overall imports would likely have .

Don't think India wants to move towards stringent capital controls: Kotecha

India is in a far healthier position from an economic perspective than it was during the taper tantrum period

India's vegetable oil imports jump 13% in H1 2025-26 on palm oil surge

India's vegetable oil imports rose 13 per cent to 7.94 million tonnes in the first six months of the 2025-26 oil year, driven by a sharp surge in palm oil shipments, industry body the Solvent Extractors Association of India (SEA) said on Wednesday. The world's largest cooking oil consumer imported 7.04 million tonnes in the same period a year earlier. India's oil year runs from November to October. In value terms, imports for the November-April period climbed 19 per cent to Rs 87,000 crore up from Rs 73,000 crore a year-ago. Of the total imports, edible oils accounted for 7.82 million tonnes and non-edible oils for 121,000 tonnes, SEA said in a statement. Palm oil imports nearly doubled to 3.97 million tonnes from 2.74 million tonnes a year earlier, while soft oil shipments, which include soybean and sunflower oils, fell to 3.85 million tonnes from 4.13 million tonnes. Indonesia and Malaysia are the primary suppliers of palm oil to India. Argentina is the largest supplier of soy

OMCs bleed ₹30,000 crore a month: How long can India hold down fuel prices?

India is shielding consumers from rising global oil prices, but OMC losses are surging. How long can fuel prices stay frozen before fiscal pressure forces tough decisions?

India's crude imports fall 13% as Hormuz disruption cuts West Asia supply

Imports from Russia nearly doubled from February to 2.25 million bpd in March while shipments from the West Asia slumped 61 per cent to 1.18 million bpd

Govt expands Russian marine insurers list as Iran war strains supply chains

India is relying on Russian oil to meet most of its demand using a temporary waiver as the US-Israeli war on Iran keeps the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed

How 50 days of Iran war led to the loss of $50 billion worth of oil

More than 500 million barrels of crude and condensate have already been knocked out of the global market

Refiners likely used yuan through ICICI Bank for payment of Iranian oil

Last month, Washington unveiled ​30-day waivers on US sanctions for the purchase of Russian and Iranian oil at sea in ‌an attempt to ease prices that were driven up by the US-Israeli war on Iran

Ship carrying Iranian oil shifts course from India to China mid-voyage

A US-sanctioned tanker carrying Iranian crude oil has rerouted mid-voyage from its previously indicated destination of India - where it would have marked the first such shipment in nearly seven years - to China. The Aframax tanker Ping Shun, built in 2002 and sanctioned by the US in 2025, is now signalling Dongying in China as its destination instead of Vadinar in Gujarat, which it had indicated earlier this week, according to ship-tracking firm Kpler. There is no confirmation that the destination that the ship's Automatic Identification System (AIS) transponder - a tracking system mandated on most commercial vessels - is indicating is the final and it may not change at any time during the transit. "An Iranian crude vessel 'Ping Shun' that had been en route to Vadinar, India, over the past three days has dropped India as its declared destination near arrival and is now signalling China," said Sumit Ritolia, Lead Research Analyst, Refining and Modelling at commodity market analytic .

Datanomics: Ethanol push gains ground; dependence on oil imports persists

India's E20 fuel rollout boosts ethanol blending, but rising fuel demand keeps crude import dependence high, raising questions on its impact on energy security

Indian refiners seek alternatives to US dollar for Russian oil payments

Transactions are being carried out by depositing Indian rupees into special overseas bank accounts held by Russian sellers which are then being converted into UAE's dirham or the Chinese yuan

Reliance buys 5 million barrels of Iranian oil after US waiver: Report

The Trump administration on Friday issued a 30-day sanctions waiver for the purchase of Iranian oil already at sea