How the Iran war has stoked competition between India and China for Russian oil

india and china are competing hard for russian crude as the iran war disrupts supplies through the strait of hormuz. the us renewed a waiver on april 18 allowing sanctioned russian oil to be bought at sea for about a month, but kept sanctions on iranian crude — nearly 98% of which goes to china. iranian attacks on gulf energy infrastructure have also cut supplies from that region. kpler data shows chinese imports through the strait fell to about 222,000 barrels per day in april, from 4.45 million before the war. india's dropped to 247,000 from 2.8 million in february. both countries are scrambling for alternatives. "the competition for russian crude between india and china has been intense and will continue to be so for june-loading cargoes," said muyu xu, a senior analyst at kpler. india looks more vulnerable. its oil imports fell in march, and it has a buffer of around 30 days against prolonged shocks. china's stockpiles can cover three to four months. india imported 4.57 mbd of crude in march, with russia's share at 47% — nearly double february's 20%. china imported 1.8 mbd of russian oil in march, slightly down from 1.9 mbd in february. so far in april, each country is securing 1.6 mbd of russian crude.