Reliance Industries Ltd is seeking to buy Russian oil after the US granted India a license to temporarily acquire cargoes, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The refining giant plans to process the barrels at its facility that produces fuels for the domestic Indian market, said the person, who asked not to be identified discussing sensitive matters. The company’s export-focused plant will continue running on non-Russian grades, the person added.
The waiver marks a significant turnaround by the Trump administration, which had put significant pressure on New Delhi to curb its Russian crude purchases. Reliance was India’s biggest buyer of oil from the OPEC+ producer last year, importing almost 600,000 barrels a day, according to data from Kpler.
Reliance didn’t immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.
The conflict in the Middle East has disrupted energy supplies from the region, driving up prices of crude and natural gas, and the US waiver is intended to ease some pressure. There’s plenty of Russian oil stored on tankers in the region, meaning Indian refiners can quickly ramp up purchases.
About 70% of Reliance’s crude imports in 2026 have come from the Middle East, according to Kpler. The company’s purchases of Russian oil have slid to about a 10th of last year’s rate, data from Kpler show, following a European Union ban on imports of petroleum products made using Russian crude.
The US license was issued late Thursday and covers Russian crude loaded onto tankers before March 5. About 15 million barrels of Russian oil are on tankers in the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal, with another 7 million idling near Singapore, according to ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg.
