Reliance Industries may be deviating from its current reliance on Russian oil amid the looming threat of secondary sanctions from the US and NATO. The revelation came even as the European Union unveiled new punitive measures targeting the Russian energy sector this month — including restrictions on the Vadinar refinery in Gujarat.
According to a Bloomberg report, the Mukesh Ambani-led company bought Murban crude from Abu Dhabi late last week. The private refiner isn’t a regular buyer of the UAE grade — a premium crude that tends to be costlier than its regular appetite of Russian Urals and heavier Middle Eastern varieties. People familiar with the company’s plans also told Bloomberg that Reliance had begun looking for ways to diversify its crude purchases away from Russia.
Indian refiners had ramped up their purchases as Europe and the US shunned Russian crudes in 2022 — leading to deep cargo discounts. These were refined to produce fuels such as diesel before being resold to Western customers. The European Union has now outlined a ban on import of diesel fuel and other petroleum products refined from Russian crude oil — even if these fuels are processed in third countries outside Russia. It has also placed direct sanctions on Nayara Energy — a refinery backed by Russian oil major Rosneft.
Russia key supplier for Reliance
According to data shared by Bloomberg, Reliance has emerged as one of the biggest ‘beneficiaries’ of the Ukraine-Russia conflict. Ship-tracking data compiled by Kpler suggests that Moscow has supplied almost half of Reliance’s crude imports so far this year. Around one-fifth of the processor’s total product exports were subsequently sold to Europe. The process of refining Russian crude into diesel for sales into Europe has put Reliance in the line of fire of EU’s latest pressure on Moscow, with the ban set to take effect January 21 next year.
Despite initial signs of a pivot towards the Middle East, it remains unclear how the mega refiner will source close to 600,000 barrels a day of crude from other producers, and at what cost.
Does India rely on Russian oil imports?
Indian oil imports from Russia rose marginally during the first half of 2025 — with nearly 35% of overall supplies coming from the country. Private refiners such as Reliance Industries Ltd and Nayara Energy made up approximately half of the purchases from Moscow. New Delhi has repeatedly stressed the need to avoid “double standards” as top US and NATO officials threaten to impose 100% secondary sanctions on nations still importing Russian oil.
US President Donald Trump and NATO chief Mark Rutte both warned about imposition of 100% secondary sanctions earlier this month amid efforts to end the Ukraine war by September. The Ministry of External Affairs however insists that securing energy needs was an “overriding priority” for the country — guided by available offers and the “prevailing global circumstances”. Meanwhile, Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said last week that he was “not worried at all” and assured that India would secure alternative alternatives if necessary.