By Nidhi Verma
NEW DELHI (Reuters) -Reliance Industries Ltd, the top Indian buyer of Russian oil, will abide by Western sanctions against Moscow while maintaining its relationship with current oil suppliers, its spokesperson said in a statement.
Reliance, which is controlled by billionaire Mukesh Ambani and operates the world’s biggest refining complex at Jamnagar in western Gujarat state, has a long-term deal to buy nearly 500,000 bpd of crude oil from Russian oil major Rosneft.
The European Union, United Kingdom and the United States have imposed a raft of sanctions against Russia over its war in Ukraine, including fresh U.S. sanctions on Thursday targeting Russia’s two top oil producers Lukoil and Rosneft. The U.S. has given companies until November 21 to wind down their transactions with the Russian oil producers.
The EU, which has previously said from January 21 it will not take fuel produced at refineries that received or processed Russian oil 60 days prior to bill of lading date, adopted a 19th package of sanctions on Thursday.
“As is customary in the industry, supply contracts evolve to reflect changing market and regulatory conditions. Reliance will address these conditions while maintaining the relationships with its suppliers,” the spokesperson said in an emailed statement, without mentioning its contract with Rosneft.
Reuters on Thursday reported that Reliance plans to stop importing oil from Rosneft.
The refiner also buys Russian oil through intermediaries.
Reliance has previously said it will comply with the EU’s guidelines on the import of refined products.
The refiner said its diversified crude purchases will help it navigate European sanctions without specifying if it would halt purchases of Russian oil for its 1.4 million barrels per day refining complex in western Gujarat state.
“Reliance is confident that its time-tested, diversified crude sourcing strategy will continue to ensure stability and reliability in its refinery operations for meeting the domestic and export requirements, including to Europe,” the spokesperson said.
(Reporting by Nidhi Verma; Editing by Joe Bavier, Elaine Hardcastle)
