India’s private refiner Reliance Industries said on Tuesday (Jan 6) it does not expect to receive any Russian crude oil deliveries in January and has not taken such cargoes for the past three weeks, signalling a further pullback by India’s largest conglomerate from a trade that has reshaped global energy flows since the Ukraine war.
In a statement posted on social media platform X, Reliance denied a Bloomberg report citing shipping data from analytics firm Kpler, which had said that three vessels carrying Russian crude were en route to its Jamnagar refinery complex in Gujarat. “Reliance has not received any Russian crude cargoes in the past three weeks and does not expect any deliveries in January,” the company said, pushing back against suggestions that it continues to take Russian oil.
Reliance was once India’s biggest buyer of Russian crude, emerging as a key outlet after Moscow redirected exports away from Europe following the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. India, which had historically bought little Russian oil, rapidly became the world’s largest buyer of discounted seaborne Russian crude, capitalising on lower prices to rein in inflation and reduce its import bill.
Those purchases, however, have drawn sustained criticism from Western governments. The United States and its allies have imposed sweeping sanctions on Russia’s energy sector, arguing that oil revenues are critical to funding Moscow’s war effort. While India has maintained that its imports are driven by national interest and do not violate international law, Russian oil has become a sensitive issue in New Delhi’s relations with Washington.
With Reliance now halting Russian crude purchases, India’s overall imports from Russia are set to fall further in January, potentially leaving China as the only major remaining destination for Moscow’s seaborne oil. According to sources and shipping data, Russian oil flows to India had already slowed sharply in recent months.
Indian authorities have also stepped up scrutiny of crude sourcing. People familiar with the matter told Reuters last week that refiners have been asked to provide weekly disclosures of their purchases of Russian and United States oil. The sources said Russian crude imports are expected to dip below 1 million barrels per day (bpd) as New Delhi seeks to advance a trade deal with Washington.
Stricter enforcement of US and European Union sanctions has already disrupted Russian oil flows. Imports into India fell to a three-year low of around 1.2 million bpd in December, according to sources and Kpler data. That represents a drop of roughly 40 per cent from a peak of about 2 million bpd reached in June, when Russian barrels dominated India’s crude slate.
Reliance, one of India’s largest conglomerates with interests spanning energy, telecoms and retail, has often been at the centre of attention for its Russian oil purchases, given the scale of its Jamnagar refining complex — the world’s largest. The company’s buying decisions have been closely watched by policymakers and markets alike as a bellwether for India’s broader stance.
Delhi’s reliance on Russian oil has become a major irritant in ties with the United States. Last year, Washington imposed tariffs of up to 50 per cent on certain Indian imports, among the highest levied on any country, in a move widely seen as linked to trade imbalances and strategic differences, including energy ties with Russia.
US President Donald Trump on Monday issued a fresh warning, saying India could face even higher tariffs if it does not significantly reduce its imports of Russian crude. Following earlier pressure from Washington, Reliance had already cut its orders from Russian suppliers by about 13 per cent in October 2025, according to a report by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
As Russian supplies ebb, India is turning back to traditional Middle Eastern suppliers. The country remains heavily dependent on oil imports from Iraq, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, even as it balances energy security with geopolitical pressures amid an increasingly complex global oil market.
