India Boosts Gulf Oil Imports as Russian Crude Loses Its Price Advantage

Tsvetana Paraskova
What I Cover Tsvetana Paraskova is an energy and products reporter

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By Tsvetana Paraskova-Nov 12, 2026, 5:30 AM CST

India has actually imported greater volumes of petroleum from the Persian Gulf than from Russia up until now in November, for the very first time given that the Iran war broke out and interfered with the typical supply chain through the Strait of Hormuz.

Far this month, India is approximated to have actually imported about 2.1 million barrels per day(bpd)of unrefined oil from the Persian Gulf, compared to 1.8 million bpd streams from Russia, Bloomberg reported on Thursday, mentioning information by Kpler.

This is yet another indication that Strait of Hormuz circulations have actually materially recuperated in current weeks, thanks to ship-to-ship (STS) transfers that have actually moved better to India’s shorelines in the middle of blockage in the Gulf of Oman and worries of attacks on tankers near the Strait of Hormuz.

Before the Iran war, India’s overall petroleum imports by means of Hormuz balanced about 2.8 million bpd. In the early months of the now nine-month-long war, streams from the Persian Gulf to India fell apart to as low as 247,000 bpd in April, when the Strait was closed to practically any traffic.

Russia stays a crucial petroleum provider to India, however the rebound in Hormuz streams and the much shorter range to India have actually increased Indian imports of petroleum from the Gulf manufacturers.

Last month, the waters outside the Strait of Hormuz were so overcrowded with ship-to-ship transfers to keep oil draining of the Gulf that the STS operations began to broaden into India’s West Coast.

The Gulf of Kutch, which opens towards the Arabian Sea dealing with the Gulf of Oman, has actually ended up being another point of STS for the Gulf oil manufacturers. The Middle Eastern oil exporters seek to keep their products to Asian markets streaming, in spite of increased threats to tanker journeys in the Strait of Hormuz.

At the end of October, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), among the most significant Indian state-owned refiners, stated it would decrease its purchases of petroleum from Russia in November as high freight expenses and premiums for Russia’s unrefined weaken the beauty of Moscow’s oil compared to numerous deals for Middle Eastern crude, whose rates are falling.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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