India's largest refiner Reliance Industries Ltd. has resumed buying Russian oil from non-sanctioned suppliers, a Bloomberg report said citing people with
knowledge of the matter. As per the report, Reliance has contracted Aframax tankers from RusExport and is diverting shipments to its 660,000-barrel-a-day refinery that serves domestic customers, people familiar with the matter said, requesting anonymity due to the sensitivity of the information. The move is expected to help limit the drop in India’s purchases of Russian oil, which officials have warned could fall by more than half this month. The oil market is closely watching what happens to Russian crude exports after the US imposed sanctions on Russia’s two largest oil producers in October, aiming to cut funds flowing to the Kremlin for the war in Ukraine. Also Read: India Becomes No. 2 Buyer of Russian Oil In October, This Country Tops the List The sanctions have forced Indian refiners to source oil from Russian companies that are not under sanctions, or turn to more expensive supplies from other countries. Despite this, Russian oil flows to India were still expected to fall sharply. Reliance Industries paused purchases of Russian crude after the US sanctioned Rosneft PJSC and Lukoil PJSC on October 22, according to people familiar with the matter. The US had given refiners a one-month window to wind down transactions with the two companies. Reliance, which owns and operates the world’s largest refinery complex in Jamnagar, Gujarat, was later granted an additional month to receive vessels it had already contracted before October 22, the people said.
