Three tankers with Russian oil head to India's largest refinery after purchases resumed - Bloomberg
Kyiv • UNN
Three tankers carrying almost 2.2 million barrels of Urals crude are heading to Reliance Industries Ltd.'s Jamnagar refinery in India. This comes after the plant resumed purchases of Russian oil for domestic production.
At least three tankers carrying Russian oil are indicating Reliance Industries Ltd.'s refinery on India's west coast as their next destination after the country's largest private refinery resumed oil purchases for domestic production, Bloomberg reports, writes UNN.
Details
According to analytics firm Kpler, vessels loaded with nearly 2.2 million barrels of Urals crude are currently en route to the massive complex in Jamnagar and are expected to deliver their cargo early this month.
Kpler tracks vessel movements based on real-time signals transmitted by captains, indicating their current location and future discharge ports. Destinations may change as vessels approach India.
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A Reliance spokesperson stated that the company has no approved shipments of Russian crude oil for delivery in January.
After the US blacklisted Russian companies Rosneft and Lukoil, Reliance initially stopped using Russian oil at the export-oriented section of its refinery. Since then, it has started purchasing oil from unsanctioned Russian producers for domestic consumption. Previously, Rosneft was the largest supplier of Russian oil to Reliance, secured by a long-term contract to supply 500,000 barrels per day.
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India, a key market for oil from the OPEC+ member country in recent years, has been criticized by US President Donald Trump and key members of his administration for trading with Russia – criticism that has met public resistance. The uncertainty has led Indian refiners to cut purchases, and imports fell to a three-year low last month.
According to Kpler data, Reliance, controlled by billionaire Mukesh Ambani, was the world's largest buyer of Russian oil for most of 2024-2025.
According to Kpler, the cargoes are marked as supplied by traders Alghaf Marine DMCC, Redwood Global Supply FZ LLC, RusExport, and Ethos Energy. Alghaf Marine and Redwood Global are under UK sanctions, with the former being the successor to the Middle Eastern branch of Litasco, Lukoil's trading arm.
Supplies of Russian oil to Reliance's refinery complex in Jamnagar accounted for over 40% of the plant's imports between January and November last year.
Reliance is not the only Indian refinery buying Russian oil; state-owned companies Indian Oil Corp. and Bharat Petroleum Corp. are also purchasing cargoes from unsanctioned sellers. They were attracted by significant discounts, low refining margins, and uncertainty regarding the progress of trade negotiations with Washington, the publication writes.