Israel-Iran conflict: India may cut refined-product exports if…

India is likely preparing to reduce its exports of refined petroleum products to other nations if the Israel-Iran conflict causes a block in maritime traffic across the Strait of Hormuz, reported the news agency Bloomberg, citing Union Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Thursday, 19 June 2025. 

According to the agency report, Minister Hardeep Singh Puri also said that they are preparing to import crude oil from outside the Persian Gulf.

“We have enough stocks” of crude and refined products, the Oil Minister told the news portal NDTV. “We have enough diversified (crude) supplies,” and “even if there were to be disruption, we can source it from alternate sources.”

The Strait of Hormuz is a strategically important global trade passage that fosters nearly a quarter of the world's oil trade. It links the Gulf of Oman, the Arabian Sea, and the Persian Gulf.

The raging concerns are due to the ongoing Israel-Iran conflict. However, there are no advancements from Iran, which shows their target to disrupt the shipping passage, as per a seperate report from the news agency. 

Iran's threat

Iran has earlier threatened other nations that it will close the Strait of Hormuz in times of conflict. However, nothing of that sort has happened so far, according to the news reports.

Union Minister Puri told the media that India consumes 5.5 million barrels of oil every day, and out of that, 1.5 million barrels of oil is imported through the water route.

“I don’t think this is something we are unduly worried about,” said Puri, highlighting the high supply of crude oil in the current market, cited by the news agency.

Indian Exports

As India may consider cutting down on its refined petroleum product exports to other nations, many nations will be affected due to the potential supply cuts.

Indian refiners like Mukesh Ambani-owned Reliance Industries, and Nayara Energy ship the refined petroleum products to nations like the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Singapore, the United States and Australia.

India exports nearly 1.3 million barrels per day in 2025, with the majority share, 82 per cent of the exports coming from oil marketing companies like Reliance and Nayara, reported the news agency, citing Kpler data.