don’t you think that is taken into context by the respective navy before operating a conventional carrier? Your reasoning sounds redundant.
the question is can you have a true blue water navy with a conventional powered carrier. A answer is yes, provided the cost breakdown is factored in.
It also depends on, What the objectives are for so and so navy that wants to opaerate the carrier. For the Indian navy, it’s simple: their area of operation would be limited to the Indian Ocean, Arabian Sea and the South China Sea. Is the cost of operating in this region acceptable? Depends.
For China , that’s also the objectives of the Chinese navy. I’m sure they want force projection all over the world. Hence is it viable for operating a conventional one? With all the nava portsl that China has leased/duped from different countries, you think the gas bill is that much of a problem for China? Lol.
having the infrastructure to refuel and res up ply all over the world is way more valuable that fuel bills lol