Reliance Industries stopped importing Russian oil into its refinery at Gujarat’s Jamnagar from Thursday, Reuters reported.
The Mukesh Ambani-led conglomerate told the news agency that it will abide by western sanctions against Russia amid Moscow’s war on Ukraine while maintaining ties with existing oil suppliers.
The United States and its European allies have imposed a series of sanctions on Russian businesses, especially oil exporters, since February 2022, when the war in Ukraine began. The sanctions are aimed at forcing Moscow to end the conflict and sign a peace deal with Kyiv.
In October, Washington imposed fresh sanctions targeting two of Russia’s largest energy firms and oil exporters – Rosneft and Lukoil.
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly alleged that the import of Russian oil by countries, including India, was fuelling Moscow’s war.
In August, the Trump administration doubled the tariffs on goods imported from India to 50% for purchasing Russian oil. A 25% so-called reciprocal tariff had already taken effect.
At the time, New Delhi said it was “extremely unfortunate” that the US had chosen to impose the additional levies on India “for actions that several other countries are also taking in their own national interest”.
On October 23, Reliance Industries had told Reuters that “recalibration of Russian oil imports is ongoing” and that the company “will be fully aligned to GOI [Government of India] guidelines”.
The Indian conglomerate’s spokesperson was quoted as saying by the news agency on Thursday that from December 1, all products exported from the Jamnagar facility, considered the world’s largest single-location refining complex, will have been produced from crude oil not sourced from Russia.
The transition away from Russian oil was completed ahead of schedule to ensure that it complies with restrictions that will take full effect on January 21, the company said. The US has given companies time till Friday to wind down their transactions.
Reliance Industries has had a long-term deal to purchase about 500,000 barrels of crude oil per day from Rosneft, according to Reuters.
The conglomerate is India’s largest fuel exporter and the country’s largest importer of Russian oil, according to The Indian Express. It accounts for about half of Russian oil imports into India.
Europe accounts for 28% of the oil exports by Reliance, according to Reuters.
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