Indian refiners are strategically recalibrating their crude oil sourcing, with Venezuela and Brazil emerging as significant new suppliers, as West Asian supply disruptions, particularly the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, force a major shift away from traditional sources like Iraq.
Key Points
- Indian refiners have diversified their crude oil sourcing, with Venezuela and Brazil entering the top five suppliers in April, replacing Iraq and the US.
- Shipments from Iraq, traditionally India's second-largest supplier, dropped to zero due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical maritime chokepoint.
- Venezuela shipped 298,000 bpd to India in April after refiners resumed purchases following the US takeover of Caracas’ oil assets, with Reliance Industries being a major buyer.
- Brazil's crude supplies to India doubled to 275,000 bpd in April, and state-run BPCL signed a one-year deal with Petrobras for 12 million barrels in FY27.
- Russia remains India's top supplier despite a 16.7 per cent month-on-month decline in April, attributed to refinery maintenance and attacks on Russian oil infrastructure.
Indian refiners have begun recalibrating their crude sourcing strategy amid supply disruptions in West Asia, with Venezuela and Brazil emerging among the top five suppliers in April, replacing Iraq and the United States, according to data from maritime intelligence firm Kpler.
The shift comes as shipments from Iraq, which has traditionally been India’s second-largest crude oil supplier, dropped to zero for the first time in years after the closure of the Strait of Hormuz — a key maritime chokepoint through which around 20 per cent of global crude flows.
Before the disruption, Iraq alone supplied up to 1 million barrels per day (bpd) to India.
Changing Global Oil Dynamics
India’s top crude suppliers in April were Russia, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Venezuela and Brazil.
This marks a departure from the pre-conflict mix, when Russia, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and the US dominated imports.
“India's crude oil imports from Iraq have fallen to nil — a level not seen in recent memory — following disruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Unlike Saudi Arabia and the UAE, Iraq does not possess alternative export infrastructure to serve Asian markets.
"Should the conflict in West Asia remain unresolved, Iraqi oil supplies to the region are likely to remain at these depressed levels,” said Nikhil Dubey, senior refining analyst at Kpler.
New Suppliers Emerge
As refiners seek to replace lost Gulf volumes, Venezuela and Brazil have emerged as key suppliers. Venezuela shipped 298,000 bpd to India in April, up from zero earlier, as refiners resumed purchases following the US takeover of Caracas’ oil assets.
Most of these purchases were made by Reliance Industries due to the refinery’s high complexity, enabling it to process highly sour Venezuelan crude.
Supplies from Brazil doubled to 275,000 bpd in April from 137,000 bpd in March.
As part of diversification efforts, state-run Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) signed a one-year term deal with Brazil’s state-owned Petrobras in February for supplying 12 million barrels of crude oil in FY27.
Maintaining Supply and Russian Imports
Saudi Arabia and UAE are the only Gulf countries that have been able to maintain healthy exports despite the conflict due to oil pipelines and ports, which completely bypass Hormuz.
Meanwhile, Russia retained its position as India’s top supplier, though imports fell 16.7 per cent month-on-month to 1.7 million bpd.
The decline was due to maintenance at Nayara Energy’s Vadinar refinery and attacks on Russian oil infrastructure, Dubey said.
Nayara Energy is expected to resume operations by mid-May at its Vadinar refinery in Gujarat.
The country’s largest refiner, Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL), was the top importer of Russian crude in April at 677,000 bpd, followed by Reliance Industries at 235,000 bpd.
Indian refiners also ramped up purchases from Russia after a US waiver allowed imports of Russian crude and petroleum products, even from sanctioned entities, until May 16, provided cargoes were loaded on or before April 17.
On account of the supply disruptions, India’s total crude oil imports dropped to 4.43 million bpd in April, against the average of 5 million bpd prior to the conflict.
