By Sadananda Mohapatra, Senior Business Journalist
Lead Story: Same Volumes, Twice the Price: How India Kept Its Crude Supply Intact Amid the Crisis
The headline number from India’s May crude import data is not what most people expected. Despite the Strait of Hormuz disruption, soaring global prices, a weakening rupee and a government actively urging citizens to cut fuel consumption, India’s crude imports have traced a clear recovery arc over the past three months. From a sharp dip of 19 million metric tonnes in March as the Hormuz disruption hit hardest, volumes rebounded to just over 20 million metric tonnes in April and climbed further to approximately 21 million metric tonnes in May, broadly back to pre-crisis levels.
What changed dramatically was not the volume. It was the map and the bill.
Before the crisis, roughly 55% of India’s crude moved outside the Strait of Hormuz. By May that figure had climbed to 70%, as refiners rerouted supply away from Gulf chokepoints at speed. India is now sourcing from over 40 countries. Russia remained the largest single supplier at around 38 to 39% of total imports, its discounted barrels still flowing under a US sanctions waiver. West Africa emerged as a major beneficiary of the shift: Nigerian and Angolan crude, fully routable around Africa’s southern tip without any Hormuz exposure, attracted sharply higher Indian buying interest. Purchases from Venezuela, the United States and alternative Gulf routes filled further gaps.
The price of this agility has been steep. India paid approximately USD 16.3 billion for its April crude, a roughly 50% surge from USD 10.7 billion a year earlier, even as volumes were still recovering. The Indian crude basket averaged around USD 114 per barrel against approximately USD 68 the previous year. Longer Cape routes added freight costs on top of elevated prices at every step.
The broader economic strain is showing. Petroleum product exports fell to nearly 20-year lows in May as refiners prioritised domestic supply. Demand growth for refined products has been cut by 40% for 2026. Foreign exchange reserves have fallen from USD 728 billion to approximately USD 691 billion in six weeks. The government raised gold import duties from 6% to 15% to slow reserve depletion and tweaked petroleum export duties to revive some refinery flows.
India kept the barrels coming through one of the most disruptive periods in global energy markets in recent memory. The diversification is real, the supply chain proved more resilient than feared, and the procurement machinery performed under pressure. But resilience at USD 114 per barrel is an expensive habit to sustain.
Joules Capsule: Weekly Round-Up
India Keeps Export Levies on Petrol, Diesel and Aviation Fuel
India’s Ministry of Finance has notified export levies on petrol, diesel and aviation turbine fuel for the fortnight beginning June 1, 2026, continuing a policy introduced on March 27 to prioritise domestic fuel availability amid the West Asia crisis. Export duties have been revised fortnightly since then based on prevailing international crude and product prices. For the current fortnight, the levy stands at Rs 1.5 per litre on petrol exports, Rs 13.5 per litre on diesel and Rs 9.5 per litre on aviation fuel. Domestic excise duty rates on petrol and diesel remain unchanged. The steep diesel export levy in particular signals that the government is keeping a firm grip on domestic supply even as it tweaks the framework to allow some refinery export flows to resume.
Reliance’s Annual Report Confirms Solar Production Has Begun at Jamnagar
The largest single-location crude oil refiner has started producing solar modules. Reliance Industries’ annual report for FY 2025-26 confirms that its Dhirubhai Ambani Green Energy complex in Jamnagar has crossed from planning into production. The first gigawatt-scale solar module line using advanced heterojunction technology is now operational, with initial output of 200 megawatts-peak underway. The battery storage factory is in advanced commissioning with ramp-up through 2026, and electrolyzer manufacturing is targeted for year-end. At the adjacent Kutch site, one of the world’s largest single-location solar projects spanning 550,000 acres, generation is expected to begin in the first half of this financial year.
Grid Catches Brief Monsoon Relief Before Summer Returns
India’s power grid averaged approximately 245 gigawatts of peak demand through the week of May 26 to June 1, easing from the record-breaking levels of the previous week. The drop was sharp and sudden: demand fell from 265 gigawatts on May 26 to a low of 223 gigawatts on May 31 as pre-monsoon weather brought brief relief to parts of the country. The respite may be short-lived. Grid India’s week-ahead forecast projects demand climbing back toward 257 to 262 gigawatts by mid-week, as the monsoon’s early arrival covers only a fraction of the country’s heat-stressed geography.
About the Author:
Sadananda Mohapatra is a veteran business journalist with decades of experience covering India’s energy, industry, and economic landscape. With stints at reputed financial news publications like The Business Standard & NewsWire18, he reported extensively on India’s power sector, minerals policy, coal and energy regulation, and industrial developments — building a deep, ground-level understanding of the global energy economy. His work spans corporate affairs, infrastructure, and policy analysis, with a particular focus on eastern India’s resource-rich industrial corridor. He currently writes on the global energy landscape through his newsletter, The Joule’s Stack.
