Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries has begun preparations for the possibility of resuming crude oil imports from Russia after the United States granted a temporary 30-day sanctions waiver allowing Indian refiners to purchase Russian oil amid the raging conflict in the Middle East which has affected the global energy supply chain.
Is Reliance prepping to buy Russian oil?
Citing sources, a Bloomberg report said Reliance Industries is preparing to process Russian oil crude oil at is Jamnagar refinery, which produces fuel for the domestic Indian market. However, Reliance’s export focused refinery plant will continue to run on non-Russian grade crude oil for the time being, the source was quoted as saying,.
Reliance–India’s most-valued domestic firm led by billionaire Mukesh Ambani– was the largest buyer of Russian oil in India, importing approximately 600,000 barrels of crude from Russian suppliers per day in 2024.
However, the conglomerate drastically reduced its oil purchases from Russia in wake of sanctions imposed on Russian crude by Washington.
According to ship-tracking data, the share of Russian oil in Reliance’s total imports this year has fallen to about a tenth compared to last year, partly due to the European Union’s ban on petroleum products made from Russian crude.
The major chunk of Reliance’s oil purchases in 2026 are expected to come from the Middle East. However, the raging tensions in the region due to the Iran-Israel war affected global energy supplies, leading to a spike in crude oil and gas prices.
Shipping data shows that around 15 million barrels of Russian oil are currently stored on tankers in the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, while approximately 7 million barrels are stored on ships near Singapore, allowing Indian refiners to increase Russian crude purchases if required.
US gives ‘permission’ to India to buy Russian oil
On Friday, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the Trump administration has given “permission” to India to buy Russian oil that is on ships already floating on waterways with a view to easing supplies around the world amid the Middle East conflict.
“The world is very well supplied in oil. Yesterday, the Treasury (Department) agreed to let our allies in India start buying Russian oil that was already on the water,” Bessent said in an interview to Fox Business.
“The Indians had been very good actors. We had asked them to stop buying sanctioned Russian oil this fall. They did. They were going to substitute it with US oil. But to ease the temporary gap of oil around the world, we have given them permission to accept the Russian oil. We may unsanction other Russian oil,” he said.
