Indian refiners have increased crude purchases from Latin America and Africa after Middle East supply flows were disrupted through the Strait of Hormuz. According to Reuters and preliminary Kpler data, imports from Venezuela, Brazil, Angola and Nigeria rose in April and May, while India continued buying Russian crude.

Before the Middle East conflict escalated, India — the world’s third-largest oil importer and consumer — relied heavily on nearby Gulf suppliers. Restrictions on shipping through Hormuz forced refiners to diversify more quickly and search for alternative crude grades in the spot market.

Russian flows weakened in April, falling 29.4% from March to 1.6 million barrels per day. One reason was planned maintenance at Nayara Energy’s 400,000 bpd refinery. But the decline may be temporary: preliminary Kpler data suggest India is expected to receive about 1.9 million bpd of Russian crude in May.

Russia remained India’s largest oil supplier in April, followed by the UAE and Saudi Arabia. Brazil ranked fourth, while Venezuela entered the top five and could move higher in May. The signal for energy markets is clear: India is not abandoning Russian crude, but it is accelerating diversification to reduce exposure to one region and one shipping chokepoint.