Hormuz Crisis Drives India's Fossil Fuel Import Costs to $22 Billion
India incurred an estimated $22 billion in gross additional fossil-fuel import costs between March and August 2026 due to the Hormuz crisis, making it the second-most affected importing country after China. The Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) analysis found that India's net additional cost for crude oil stood at $20.5 billion.
The impact of the energy shock was uneven across economies, with the typical low- or lower-middle-income fossil-fuel importer paying an additional amount equivalent to 1 per cent of GDP, compared with 0.45 per cent for the typical high-income importer. China had the highest absolute net cost at $31.7 billion, but this amounted to only 0.17 per cent of its GDP.
India's expansion of clean power helped cushion the shock, with clean-power generation capacity added since 2020 estimated to have saved importing countries $36 billion in coal, gas, and oil imports during the first five months of the crisis.