The closure of the Strait of Hormuz — through which roughly a fifth of the world’s oil has historically flowed — is no longer a theoretical nightmare scenario. It is today’s reality, and its consequences are cascading across continents.
According to reporting by The Hindu, the ongoing Iran war has triggered what it calls a “global crude oil crisis.” With the critical maritime chokepoint effectively shut down, traditional energy supply chains have been thrown into chaos. But amid the turmoil, some nations are finding opportunity: India has moved swiftly to secure alternative supplies, likely absorbing “most of the increased crude oil shipments from Venezuela and Russia,” which have stepped up exports to fill the gap left by disrupted Middle Eastern flows [22].
The strategic pivot underscores how dramatically the energy map has been redrawn in a matter of months. Venezuela and Russia — both under varying degrees of Western sanctions in previous years — have become critical lifelines for the world’s third-largest oil importer.
