Indian’s Reliance Industries Ltd. bought Middle Eastern crudes last week and may place more orders, in a sign that Western pressure against Russian flows may be starting to impact its procurement patterns.
The privately-held refiner bought at least 2.5 million barrels, including Iraq’s Basrah Medium, as well as Al-Shaheen and Qatar Land, said traders familiar with the matter, who asked not to be named as they’re not authorized to speak to the media. While Reliance’s typical diet does include crude from the region, the recent spurt of buying was more active than usual, the traders said.
On top of the flurry of spot purchases, Reliance has also been making enquiries to a large number of potential counterparties about the availability of oil from the region of quality similar to Russian crude, the traders said. The company has typically been the largest single buyer of Moscow’s crude in India, relying on the flows as a mainstay for its operations.
The US has been pressuring India to curb imports of Russian crude as part of efforts to end the war in Ukraine. Earlier this month, President Donald Trump said the South Asian nation had agreed to halt all buying of Moscow’s oil, although New Delhi did not corroborate his remarks. Local refiners have broadly indicated they would trim — but not stop — purchases from the OPEC+ producer.
Beyond the US moves, a European Union ban on imports of fuel made from Russian crude, is set to take effect on Jan. 21, potentially impacting Reliance’s exports of refined products to the bloc. Official guidelines named India as a country that counterparties should take added precautions with.
Reliance didn’t respond to a request for comment sent during a local holiday.
