Indian refiners topped up crude oil supplies from Russia, Venezuela and West Africa to compensate for lost cargoes from the Middle East Gulf (MEG) region, particularly Saudi Arabia, during April 2026.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) in its April oil market report pointed out that OPEC+ crude supply declined by 830,000 barrels per day (b/d) in April to 34.1 million b/d (mb/d) as OPEC Gulf production fell a further 900,000 b/d m-o-m with continued closure of the Strait of Hormuz necessitating additional curtailments.
The Gulf region’s severe supply disruption deepened following early-April attacks on oil infrastructure and the start of the US blockade on Iranian exports towards the end of the month, it added.
The two main importers of Russian crude oil — China and India — reduced purchases in April, with declines of 380,000 b/d each m‑o‑m to 1.4 mb/d and to 1.6 mb/d, respectively, as March imports were inflated by floating storage made available under a US sanctions waiver.
“While ESPO (Eastern Siberia–Pacific Ocean) exports from Kozmino to China fell by 150,000 b/d in April, flows to India increased by a similar volume, reaching an all‑time high of 310,000 b/d,” the IEA pointed out.
