India is rapidly shifting its energy strategy as escalating geopolitical conflicts disrupt traditional shipping lanes. Following the closure of the crucial Strait of Hormuz amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, the world’s third-largest oil consumer has been forced to look far beyond the Middle East to secure its fuel needs.
Trade data from Kpler reveals a massive pivot in India's oil buying habits for April and May. With key waterways restricted, Indian refiners have significantly ramped up crude imports from Latin America and Africa, specifically targeting supplies from Venezuela, Brazil, Angola, and Nigeria, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
Before the conflict erupted in late February, India heavily relied on the nearby Middle East for the majority of its crude. However, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz has paralyzed exports from traditional regional heavyweights like Kuwait, Qatar, and Bahrain, which rely entirely on the waterway.
To cope with the shock, India's April imports saw some dramatic, unexpected shifts. For the first time in nearly seven years, India resumed buying oil from Iran, capitalizing on a temporary waiver granted by Washington aimed at stabilizing global oil prices. Conversely, India skipped oil purchases from Iraq entirely in April due to export halts, though minimal shipments are expected to resume in May.
While Russia maintained its spot as India's top overall supplier, imports of Russian crude actually dropped by nearly 30% in April to 1.6 million barrels per day. This temporary dip was largely driven by a scheduled maintenance shutdown at Nayara Energy’s massive 400,000-barrel-per-day refinery. Russian imports are already projected to bounce back to 1.9 million barrels per day in May.
Interestingly, India also leaned heavily on the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia to bridge the gap. Imports from the UAE skyrocketed to nearly 670,000 barrels per day in April, up from just 230,600 in March. Crucially, the UAE and Saudi Arabia are the only Gulf producers equipped with pipelines that can export crude by bypassing the volatile Strait of Hormuz altogether.
The reshuffling of the global energy map has led to surprising new partnerships. While Russia, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia remain India's top three oil sources, Brazil climbed to the fourth-largest spot in April. Going into May, data suggests Venezuela is on track to overtake Brazil, solidifying South America's growing role in keeping India's economy moving during unprecedented global instability.
此内容由惯性聚合(RSS阅读器)自动聚合整理，仅供阅读参考。 原文来自 — 版权归原作者所有。