India Turns to Angola and Venezuela to Bypass Middle East Oil Blockade

Vetsa Ramakrishna Gupta, finance director at Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited, confirmed the shift toward diversifying sourcing away from the Strait of Hormuz. The refiner is currently testing new crude grades from South America and Africa to fill the void left by stalled deliveries. For companies like Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited, the strategy has shifted from cost optimization to simple survival, as executives reported receiving almost no term supplies during the first quarter due to tankers remaining trapped west of the strait.

The situation worsened this week as major players, including Indian Oil Corp and Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited, suspended all crude loadings from Iraq. Indian Oil canceled plans for the Lila Jamnagar, a supertanker capable of carrying 2 million barrels, determining the transit risk through Hormuz too high. While India continues to import near-record volumes of Russian oil, the sudden disruption of Middle Eastern flows marks a critical turning point for the nation's energy security architecture.