Amid supply tightness and elevated prices due to the West Asia crisis and stifled energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz, India’s net oil and gas imports surged by 43.4% in value from year-ago levels in the first four months of the current financial year, according to provisional data from the petroleum ministry. Net oil and gas imports — arrived at deducting petroleum product exports from oil, natural gas, and petroleum product imports — in April-July stood at $57.8 billion against $40.3 billion a year ago.In volume terms, oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports were only marginally higher. As for petroleum product exports, the volumes declined, while export value rose. Petroleum product imports declined in volume as well as value, although the volume decline outpaced the fall in value, which is also reflective of high prices in the international market.India depends on imports to meet over 88% of its crude oil requirement and about half of its consumption of natural gas, which is imported as LNG. Despite depending on imported oil and gas, India is a net exporter of petroleum products due to its massive refining capacity. The country also imports some petroleum products like liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).Around 40% of India’s crude oil imports, 60% of its LNG imports, and 90% of its LPG imports came from West Asia through the strait. Apart from grappling with physical supply tightness due to the Strait of Hormuz crisis, the resultant surge in international prices forced India to import oil and gas at extremely high rates, as the country has been prioritising supply security over price considerations.Oil import dependence flat through JulyThe country’s crude oil import bill surged by over 56% on a year-on-year (y-o-y) basis in April-July to $63.4 billion, even as import volumes rose slightly to 81.9 million tonnes — or about 600 million barrels — from 81.5 million tonnes, as per data from the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC).This translates to an average landed price of about $106 per barrel for imported crude in April-July, sharply higher than about $68 per barrel in the corresponding period of last year. The data shows that India’s dependence on imported oil for the four months ended July was 88.3%, almost flat on a y-o-y basis.As for LNG imports, while supplies rose slightly — to 11,867 million standard cubic metres (mscm) in April-July from 11,269 mscm a year ago — the import bill rose by almost a fourth to $5.6 billion, reflecting the spurt in prices.Story continues below this adPetroleum product imports declined 45.1% in volume terms to 9.0 million tonnes, as supply of major petroleum products that India imports — like LPG — were impacted by the West Asia conflict. In value terms, the decline in petroleum product imports was relatively lower — down 26.3% to $5.6 billion — due to high international prices.India’s petroleum product export volumes fell almost 18% y-o-y to 16.5 million tonnes in April-July as domestic fuel supplies were prioritised amid the global supply crunch. Nonetheless, exports surged almost 35% in value.Supply tightness, price surge due to import dependenceEnergy imports are a major component of India’s overall imports, and any meaningful increase has ramifications for the country’s trade balance, current account, inflation, and the rupee’s exchange rate, among others. As India annually imports 1.8-2 billion barrels of oil, every $1-per-barrel increase in oil prices bumps up the country’s oil import bill by up to $2 billion on an annualised basis. As per PPAC data, crude oil imports in 2025-26 stood at over $122 billion. If oil prices sustain at $100 per barrel in the current financial year and import volumes don’t decline notably, the oil import bill could be upwards of $200 billion for the year.According to a March report by Nomura, India is among the three most vulnerable Asian economies to high oil prices in terms of import bills and current account balances. It said that every 10% oil price increase typically widens India’s current account deficit by 0.4% of the GDP.Story continues below this adThe June MoU between the US and Iran brought a sigh of relief for India and the global energy market, cooling prices and easing the pressure on supplies for a few weeks. But the renewed conflict in the Gulf following the pact’s effective collapse has emerged as a major concern as energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz crashed again.Heavy dependence on energy imports has led to a double whammy of supply tightness and price surge. While highly diversified crude sourcing has helped in ensuring adequate oil, petrol, diesel, and jet fuel availability amid the West Asia crisis, some rationing of gas supplies to certain industries and commercial consumers was done in order to ensure adequate availability for households and a few priority sectors.Sukalp Sharma is a Deputy Associate Editor with The Indian Express and writes on a host of subjects and sectors, notably energy and aviation. He has over 16 years of experience in journalism with a body of work spanning areas like politics, development, equity markets, corporates, trade, and economic policy. He considers himself an above-average photographer, which goes well with his love for travel. ... Read More