India Turns to Russia, Brazil, and Venezuela for Crude

AI Summary

India is diversifying its crude oil imports away from the Middle East by increasing purchases from Russia, Brazil, and Venezuela amid the Middle East crisis and disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz. This shift reflects India's strategy to secure energy supplies as traditional routes face challenges.

The world’s third-largest crude importer, India, is accelerating efforts to diversify its oil imports in the wake of the Middle East crisis. India had begun raising imports from Russia three years before the Iran war cut off most supplies from the Middle East, on which India relies for about half of its crude purchases. With the Strait of Hormuz de facto closed and only a handful of tankers moving out of the chokepoint per week, and few of these India-bound, the country is looking further away for sources of crude. Africa and South America…