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International Relations June 19, 2026 5 min read Daily brief · #27 of 51

India’s Russian oil imports at record high in June amid Hormuz closure

India's imports of Russian crude oil reached a record high in June 2026, driven by the disruption of traditional Middle Eastern supply routes through the Str...

GS Paper 2 (India's foreign policy bilateral relations) GS Paper 3 (Indian economy energy security infrastructure)

What Happened

  • India's imports of Russian crude oil reached a record high in June 2026, driven by the disruption of traditional Middle Eastern supply routes through the Strait of Hormuz.
  • The Hormuz crisis (arising from the US–Iran military conflict earlier in 2026) caused Middle Eastern oil shipments to India to fall by roughly 61%, hitting their lowest share of Indian imports on record at approximately 26% of total crude purchases.
  • Indian refiners compensated by sharply scaling up Russian crude purchases, which at peak reached nearly 50% of India's total imports in March 2026 (approximately 2.25 million barrels per day).
  • For FY 2025-26, Russia accounted for about 33% of India's total crude purchases, down from a peak of 36% the previous year, but June figures surged as Hormuz closures bit.
  • India also diversified into new suppliers — Angola, Venezuela, and other Atlantic Basin producers — as part of a broader resilience strategy.

Static Topic Bridges

Strait of Hormuz — Critical Energy Chokepoint

The Strait of Hormuz is a narrow waterway between Iran and Oman connecting the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea. It is the world's most strategically critical oil chokepoint. In 2025, approximately 20 million barrels per day (mb/d) of crude oil and petroleum products transited the strait — roughly 20% of global petroleum liquids consumption and about 25–27% of all seaborne oil trade. About 20% of the world's LNG trade also moves through this single passage.

  • Width at narrowest point: approximately 33 km (21 miles), with two 3-km-wide shipping lanes.
  • Top exporters through Hormuz: Saudi Arabia (37.2%), Iraq (22.8%), UAE (12.9%), Iran (10.6%), Kuwait (10.1%).
  • India and China together receive 44% of exports transiting the strait; China alone accounts for 37.7%.
  • Alternative routes: the East-West Pipeline (Saudi Arabia) and the Habshan–Fujairah pipeline (UAE) exist but have limited combined capacity, handling only a fraction of Hormuz volumes.
  • Disruptions to Hormuz affect global oil prices immediately, with ripple effects on India's import bill, inflation, and current account deficit.

Connection to this news: The 2026 US–Iran conflict temporarily closed or restricted shipping through Hormuz, directly reducing India's access to Gulf crude and forcing a rapid pivot toward Russian and Atlantic Basin suppliers.

India's Oil Import Dependency and Diversification Strategy

India is the world's third-largest oil importer and consumer, importing nearly 87% of its crude oil requirements. This structural import dependence makes energy security a first-order economic and foreign policy concern. India's crude import mix has historically been anchored in Middle Eastern suppliers (Saudi Arabia, Iraq, UAE, Kuwait) due to geographic proximity and refinery compatibility.

  • India imports from approximately 40 countries as of 2026, up from 27 two decades ago.
  • Russia entered India's import mix significantly post-2022, offering discounted crude (Urals grade) following Western sanctions.
  • At peak (May 2023), Russian imports reached 2.15 million bpd; the June 2026 figure represents a new record.
  • India's total crude consumption: approximately 5.5 million barrels per day.
  • The government set up a 24×7 control room to monitor petroleum stocks during the 2026 Hormuz crisis.

Connection to this news: The Hormuz closure stress-tested India's diversification policy. The rapid pivot to Russian crude — and to African and Latin American suppliers — demonstrates both the resilience of India's diversified sourcing strategy and the risks of high dependence on any single transit route.

India's Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR)

India maintains underground Strategic Petroleum Reserves to cushion short-term supply disruptions. The SPR programme is managed by the Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Limited (ISPRL). India is an Associate Member of the International Energy Agency (IEA) — not a full member — meaning it follows IEA guidance but has no binding obligation to maintain the IEA's recommended 90-day reserve cover.

  • Operational SPR sites: Visakhapatnam (1.33 MMT), Mangaluru (1.5 MMT), Padur, Karnataka (2.5 MMT).
  • Total operational capacity: approximately 5.33 million tonnes (~80% full as of 2026).
  • Coverage: approximately 9–10 days of India's crude imports — well below the IEA's 90-day benchmark.
  • India's first private-sector SPR project (awarded to Megha Engineering, ~$687 million) is underway to expand capacity.
  • India became an IEA Associate Member in 2017; the IEA extended full membership invitation in 2024. India's non-full-member status means it is not legally bound to participate in coordinated IEA stock releases.

Connection to this news: India's shallow SPR cover (9–10 days) magnifies its vulnerability to Hormuz-style disruptions, making supplier diversification the primary short-term hedge and SPR expansion a medium-term strategic imperative.

India–Russia Energy Relations and Western Sanctions

Following the 2022 Russia–Ukraine conflict, Western nations imposed sweeping sanctions on Russian energy. India, maintaining its strategic autonomy doctrine, continued importing Russian crude — receiving it at discounts of $10–20/barrel below Brent — citing legitimate energy security and economic needs. This positioned India as Russia's largest oil customer by 2023-24, displacing China temporarily.

  • India's stance: not a party to Western sanctions; purchases routed through alternative payment mechanisms (rupee-rouble, UAE dirham settlements).
  • US pressure: Washington has periodically flagged concerns about Indian refiners purchasing sanctioned Russian crude.
  • Pragmatic calculus: The discount on Russian crude saves India billions annually on its import bill, helping control inflation and the current account deficit.

Connection to this news: The June 2026 record import figure reflects a continuation of this policy logic, amplified by Hormuz constraints on alternative supplies.

Key Facts & Data

  • Hormuz transit: ~20 million barrels/day (crude + products) in 2025 = ~20% of global petroleum consumption
  • India Russian crude share: ~33% for FY 2025-26; peaked at ~50% in March 2026 crisis period (est. 2.25 mb/d)
  • India imports ~87% of crude oil requirements; total consumption ~5.5 mb/d
  • India's SPR capacity: 5.33 MMT at three underground sites = ~9–10 days import cover
  • IEA recommended reserve: 90 days (binding for full members; India is an Associate Member)
  • India now imports from ~40 countries, up from 27 two decades ago
  • Middle Eastern share fell to ~26% of Indian imports during the March 2026 Hormuz peak disruption
On this page
  1. What Happened
  2. Static Topic Bridges
  3. Strait of Hormuz — Critical Energy Chokepoint
  4. India's Oil Import Dependency and Diversification Strategy
  5. India's Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR)
  6. India–Russia Energy Relations and Western Sanctions
  7. Key Facts & Data
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