Examine India's energy-security options if Russian crude supplies are curtailed.

India imports the overwhelming bulk of its crude, and Russian barrels now form a large share of that basket. The US Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act (SRIA), threatening tariffs of up to 100% on buyers of Russian oil, has made curtailment a live scenario [1]. India's options are real, but each carries a cost.

Nature of the exposure

• Russian crude moved from a marginal share pre-war to roughly a third of imports; abrupt switching raises procurement cost, freight and refinery reconfiguration expenses.
• The discount has narrowed sharply in recent years, so the fiscal cushion is thin, while a sudden Indian exit would push Russian barrels off the market and harden global prices — a point the MEA has flagged as an implication for the international energy market [1].

Option 1: Supplier diversification — the primary hedge

• India now sources crude from about 40 countries; nearly 70% of imports arrive by routes outside the Strait of Hormuz, up from about 55% earlier [2].
• Widening term contracts with West Asia, the US, West Africa and Latin America ensures no single seller is essential — a hedge against any sanctions law, not merely SRIA.

Option 2: Buffers, refining flexibility and logistics

• Strategic reserves plus company inventories give rolling stocks of roughly 60 days of crude, 60 days of gas and 45 days of LPG, with refineries running at or above rated capacity [3].
• Complex refineries can process varied grades; shipping and insurance channels need parallel de-risking.

Option 3: Diplomatic and trade insulation

• The MEA has stated it will take "all necessary measures" to protect trade interests and work with industry bodies [4], while consistently defending purchases as market-driven and resisting unilateral, non-UN sanctions [5].

Energy security is therefore less about replacing one supplier than about building structural optionality. Diversified sourcing, deeper reserves, hedged logistics and calibrated diplomacy — reinforced by biofuels, gas and renewables under the energy-transition push — can convert an external shock into an accelerant for self-reliance, safeguarding both strategic autonomy and affordable energy for 1.4 billion citizens.