Amidst the West Asia crisis, India used various sources to purchase LNG and other fuels, which helped it deal with the crisis. According to experts at S&P Global Energy, the closure of traffic through the Strait of Hormuz disrupted global LNG supply by about 17 percent. However, India’s successful expansion of supply sources to include Oman, the US, Nigeria and Angola, the world’s fourth largest LNG buyer, had minimal impact on LNG imports. Due to this, it decreased by only five percent and two percent respectively on annual basis in April and May, 2026.
S&P Global Energy, a unit of S&P, also said that the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz with the interim peace deal between the US and Iran is expected to help improve energy flows and strengthen market sentiment. However, it will take time for the market to normalize and the strategic reserve levels to replenish.
World’s fourth largest LNG buyer
According to experts, this development shows that diversified supply chain, strong infrastructure and access to strategic sources are important. The ability to adapt to changing geopolitical realities in the exploration and production market, LNG trade and maritime logistics has emerged as the most important thing for long-term energy security. S&P Global Energy said, India’s fuel market including LNG has shown strength. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz disrupted global LNG supply by about 17 percent. However, India, the world’s fourth largest LNG buyer, showed remarkable strength. Successful expansion of supply sources to include Oman, US, Nigeria and Angola had minimal impact on India’s LNG imports.
Crude oil was also broken
Similarly, apart from Russia, India has also purchased crude oil from other countries including Venezuela and America. Johan Utama, principal research analyst at S&P Global Energy, said India is expected to maintain some of the different methods of purchasing LNG to reduce future disruptions, which could have a positive impact on its long-term procurement strategies. The effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz reduced liquid fuel production in the Gulf region by 15 million barrels per day. However, price volatility remained surprisingly limited due to aggressive stockpile and global demand management, including sharply reduced crude imports by China and Japan and higher exports from the US. Jim Burkhardt, vice president and head of research (oil markets, energy and mobility) at S&P Global Energy, said the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz was the largest disruption to oil supplies in history. This constraint is still there but what is most surprising is the limited reaction of prices.
The challenge will remain till June-July
Even if oil supply and production from Hormuz and the Gulf region improves, it will take time and there will be a shortage in oil reserves worldwide till June-July. This means that with reserves falling further to lower levels, upward price pressure may return. In the context of India, he said that strengthening the oil exploration and production sector has become a strategic imperative for India. Global production markets are increasingly prioritizing resource security, portfolio diversification and disciplined investment. Energy security for India is now fundamentally about exploration and production access and global portfolio diversification. Going forward, the current environment reinforces a clear direction change for both the global and Indian exploration and production sectors, said Nick Sharma, executive director (exploration and production), S&P Global Energy. In this, strength is becoming the main measure of value. He said, instead of just scaling up or reducing costs, more importance is being given to access to stable resources, faster completion of projects and a diversified supply portfolio.
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