India is preparing to source crude oil from outside the Persian Gulf and cut its own refined-product exports should the Strait of Hormuz be blocked to ship traffic, Oil Minister Hardeep Puri said Thursday.

As tensions escalate in the Strait of Hormuz following the Iran-Israel conflict, credit rating agency ICRA has warned that any sustained disruption in oil and gas supplies through the chokepoint could significantly strain India's economy — pushing up oil imports, widening the current account deficit (CAD), and delaying private sector investment.

India, which has traditionally sourced its oil from the Middle East, began importing a large volume of oil from Russia soon after the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. This was primarily because Russian oil was available at a significant discount to other international benchmarks due to Western sanctions and some European countries shunning purchases.