NEW DELHI Continued disruptions in oil supplies from producing countries could widen the existing supply deficit, with physical markets already under pressure, S&P Global Energy’s Global Director, India Content, Pulkit Agarwal, said on Friday. Agarwal said supply-side challenges had affected global oil and gas markets for more than six months. Oil prices have moved through several peaks and declines as markets assessed ongoing conflicts, possible agreements and when supplies could resume. He said some oil was still flowing through the Strait of Hormuz, helping limit a rise in prices, but the market remained tight. Physical supplies, particularly refined products, are also facing pressure. Agarwal said diesel was one area where record cracks were being seen. He stressed that oil prices depend on several variables, including supply, demand response to prices and possible future agreements. He said prices could not be assessed simply by looking at how much oil was being produced today. Agarwal also discussed India’s dependence on Russian crude, saying Russian oil had remained an important part of the country’s oil demand equation since the Russia-Ukraine conflict began in 2022. He said removing a major supplier would be difficult for an importing country while physical markets remained tight. He added that market participants wanted greater supply resilience, although global oil markets had developed around logistical efficiency and competitive sourcing. On hydrogen, Agarwal said India’s ambition to become a major exporter would require optimism alongside realism. He said hydrogen should form part of a broader energy ecosystem, while domestic consumption in sectors such as refining and fertilisers would need to increase. Building that ecosystem, he said, would be necessary to achieve the scale required for India to emerge as a global hydrogen exporter.