All eyes on oil: India braces for crude blow from Iran strike, scouts for options

petroleum ministry is taking continuous stock of the energy supply scenario along with the refiners. They are looking at ways to ensure that supplies are not interrupted.

Saudi Arabia and Iraq has emerged as the major suppliers of late, and the situation is concerning. Import from alternative sources may pick up.

Even if supplies are ensured, prices are sure to rise and will impact the cost and margins of the refineries," said one of the three people mentioned above.Prime Minister Narendra Modi was set to chair a meeting of the Cabinet Committee of Security in Delhi on Sunday night, PTI reported.While experts had forecast Opec+ to increase production by 137,000 barrels per day, the cartel agreed on 206,000 bpd, citing "a steady global economic outlook and current healthy market fundamentals." The eight-strong V8 group in the alliance, which includes top oil producers Saudi Arabia and Russia, as well as several Gulf states bearing the brunt of Tehran's missile strikes, said they had agreed a "production adjustment", but skipped mention of Iran."Over the past two to three months, India’s dependence on Middle Eastern (West Asian) barrels has increased as refiners have pivoted away from a portion of Russian volumes. As a result, the relative weight of Gulf-origin crude in India’s import basket has risen, increasing short-term sensitivity to any disruption in Hormuz transit.

Kpler tracking indicates continued availability of Russian cargoes in the Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea region, including volumes in floating storage. Should Middle Eastern inflows tighten, Indian refiners could pivot back toward Russian grades relatively quickly," said Sumit Ritolia, lead research analyst, refining & modelling at Kpler.Fatih Birol,