India’s top oil buyer follows Western sanctions
India’s top importer of Russian oil, the conglomerate Reliance Industries Ltd, says it will abide by Western sanctions, ending several days of speculation about how the company will manage new measures targeting Russia’s two largest oil companies.
Reliance “will be adapting the refinery operations to meet the compliance requirements”, a company spokesperson said in a statement on Friday, while maintaining its relationships with suppliers.
“As always, we will fully comply with any guidance provided by the Indian Government in this regard,” the statement continued.
As President Donald Trump grows more irate over Russia’s ceaseless war on Ukraine, the US Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) labelled Russian heavyweights Rosneft and Lukoil for the first time on Wednesday.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “refusal to end this senseless war” prompted the action, according to US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, who urged partners to follow the latest measures.
The European Union enacted its 19th round of sanctions against Russia the next day, including a complete embargo on Rosneft transactions. The EU has previously stated that it will stop importing fuel from refineries that received or processed Russian oil 60 days before shipment on January 21.
In western Gujarat, Reliance, led by billionaire industrialist Mukesh Ambani, has the largest refining plant in the world.
According to a report this week by the news agency Press Trust of India, the corporation has bought about half of the 1.7–1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) of discounted Russian crude that are supplied to India.
According to Reuters at the time, Reliance and Rosneft inked a 10-year agreement in 2024 to purchase around 500,000 barrels per day. It also purchases Russian oil through middlemen.
Reliance underlined that it would adhere to European import regulations, but it did not provide specifics on how it intended to handle the sanctions or the outcome of the 2024 Rosneft agreement.
Reliance is certain that its tried-and-true, varied crude procurement approach will maintain consistency and dependability in its refinery operations to fulfil both domestic and export demands, including those to Europe, according to a company representative.
The penalties also come as India deals with the consequences of Trump’s tariffs on Indian exports, which increased to 50% in August as a result of the country’s import of Russian oil.
The two biggest importers of Russian crude worldwide are China and India. The Indian government has not verified Trump’s repeated claims over the past month that India had agreed to cease purchasing Russian oil as part of a larger trade agreement.
Since Wednesday’s announcement of the sanctions, neither India’s energy ministries nor its Ministry of External Affairs have spoken.
Source: Aljazeera News
