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Reliance Industries Ltd, the operator of the world’s largest refinery, has ordered at least 15 million barrels of Russian oil since Russia invaded Ukraine in February, trade sources said. Sources said Reliance bought 5 million barrels a month in the June quarter. Reliance did not immediately respond to an email from Reuters seeking comment. Before the Ukraine war, Indian refiners, including Reliance, rarely bought Russian oil due to high freight rates.
But since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Western sanctions on Russia, which Moscow has dubbed an “extraordinary operation”, have prompted many oil importers to shy away from trade with Moscow, pushing down their crude prices to record discounts. As India, the world’s third-largest oil importer and the consumer has been hit hard by high oil prices, Indian refiners have rushed to snap up cheap oil. India needs to import 5 million barrels of oil per day, 85 per cent of which needs to be imported.
While New Delhi called for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine, it did not explicitly condemn Moscow’s actions. India also abstained from voting on several UN resolutions on the invasion. read more The port of Thika, operated by Reliance in western India, supplied about 8 million barrels of Russian oil, mostly the Urals, between April 5 and May 9, Refinitiv data on tanker flows showed.
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Most of the barrels were supplied by Russian trader Litasco, Refinitiv data showed. Reliance is buying Russian oil on a delivery basis, traders said. Reliance is scheduled to receive its first shipment of Russian ESPO oil in early May, Refinitiv data showed. This grade is mainly supplied to China. Billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance operates two refineries at the Jamnagar complex in western India that can process about 1.4 million barrels per day (BPD).
