Reliance Industries has clarified that it does not expect any Russian crude oil deliveries in January and has not received any shipments over the past three weeks. The private refiner, once India’s largest buyer of Russian oil, denied a Bloomberg report citing Kpler data that claimed three vessels carrying Russian crude were headed to its Jamnagar refinery.
Since the Ukraine war began in 2022, India became the biggest buyer of discounted Russian seaborne crude, drawing criticism from Western nations that argue such purchases fund Moscow’s war effort. With Reliance halting its Russian crude imports, India’s overall purchases from Russia are expected to fall further in January, leaving China as the main destination for Moscow’s oil.
Indian authorities have requested weekly disclosures from refiners on Russian and U.S. oil imports. Sources told Reuters that Russian crude imports could drop below 1 million barrels per day as India works toward a trade deal with the U.S. Stricter sanctions from the U.S. and EU have already reduced Russian oil flows to India to about 1.2 million bpd in December—a three-year low and roughly 40% below the June peak of 2 million bpd.
