War on Iran: Can fuel rationing, remote work, short sleeves ease oil woes?

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Tehran has effectively halted most traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping lane between the Gulf – also known as the Arabian Gulf and the Persian Gulf – and the Gulf of Oman, which supplies one-fifth of the world’s oil, in retaliation for the US-Israeli attacks, which started on February 28. With tanker traffic severely reduced and crude oil prices surging past $100, major oil-importing nations such as Bangladesh and Thailand are looking for workarounds to avert a crisis at home, including diversifying crude suppliers and rationing fuel. Nevertheless, analysts doubt that any alternative can ensure long-term energy stability as the Middle East remains the world’s main oil and gas supplier.

Here are four strategies countries are enacting to ease the impact of the war on their fuel needs: India has resumed buying Russian oil after halting imports from its old ally following US sanctions against Moscow’s biggest oil producers. This, after the US temporarily exempted India from sanctions on buying Russian oil shipments currently stranded at sea, aiming to prevent disruptions to global supply and curb further spikes in energy prices. The 30-day waiver would end in early April, but it can be extended by the Trump administration.

“Russian oil can help cushion a short-term supply shock, but its usefulness depends on two uncertain conditions: that Russian barrels remain available and that the discount remains meaningful,” energy expert Tatiana Mitrova, a fellow at Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy, told Al Jazeera. In theory, the estimated 120-140 million barrels of Russian oil reported to be “on the water” could cover weeks of India’s imports, Mitrova said. However, she warned that, in practice, only a fraction can be redirected quickly due to logistical and refinery constraints.

The “discount” Mitrova referred to is a subsidised rate at which Russia sold oil to India from 2022 until late 2025, when Europe and other traditional buyers shunned Russian crude amid the Ukraine war. Desperate to sell its oil, Russia was offering India discounts. However, with Russian oil now in high demand because of the war in Iran and the choke on transit through the Strait of Hormuz, it is unclear whether Russia continues to offer India crude at subsidised rates.