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.

Despite Iran's repeated threats to close the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for global oil and gas transit, it has never followed through due to strategic and economic costs. Analysts believe the oil markets are well-supplied,

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.