India wants to restore Russian oil imports: there may not be an alternative

Indian refineries are concerned about the supply of oil, as most of it comes from The Persian Gulf. One of the main options is to restore the supply of Russian oil, some of which is now on tankers in the Indian Ocean.

"Over the weekend, representatives of Indian state-owned oil refineries and government officials met to develop action plans in the event of a crisis in Iran, which has almost completely stopped the flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz," Bloomberg reports, citing sources.

According to them, India, which is the world's third largest importer of oil, is considering options, including the purchase of Russian shipments, which are currently in The Indian Ocean.

Since 2022, India has become one of the largest importers of Russian oil, but due to US sanctions and as part of a trade deal, New Delhi has pledged to reduce purchases. If the maximum reached 2 million barrels per day or more, now they were expected to drop to 400-500 thousand, which are necessary for Nayara Energy. The company is partially owned by Rosneft and is under US sanctions.

India began to reduce purchases in January — mainly due to Middle Eastern oil. At the same time, after the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran and retaliatory strikes, oil exports from The Persian Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz stopped. Tankers are afraid to cross it.

According to Bloomberg, representatives of the Ministry of Oil noted that oil reserves in India will last only for two weeks. The refineries called on the authorities to negotiate with the United States in order to obtain permission to increase Russian imports. Another option is to increase supplies from Venezuela.