Reliance Industries Exports €724 Million Worth of Fuel Refined from Russian Crude to U.S.
Reliance Industries Ltd, led by Mukesh Ambani, reportedly exported fuel worth approximately €724 million (₹6,850 crore) to the United States over a one-year period, with the fuel refined from Russian crude oil.
According to a report by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), from January 2024 to January 2025, the U.S. imported €2.8 billion worth of refined oil from six refineries in India and Turkey that process Russian crude. Of this, an estimated €1.3 billion was refined from Russian crude.
Specifically, the U.S. imports of fuels such as petrol and diesel from Jamnagar in Gujarat, where Reliance’s twin oil refineries are located, amounted to €2 billion. Of this, €724 million is estimated to have been refined from Russian crude.
Western and U.S. sanctions on Russia, following its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, do not prohibit or sanction buying/using Russian crude oil and exporting fuels such as diesel derived from it.
Other Indian refineries also contributed to these exports. For instance, Gujarat’s Vadinar refinery, operated by Nayara Energy, exported €184 million worth of fuel to the U.S. during the same period, with €124 million estimated to be refined from Russian crude. Similarly, New Mangalore, where Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL) has a unit, exported €42 million worth of fuel to the U.S., with €22 million estimated to be refined from Russian crude.
These transactions highlight the complex dynamics of global oil trade, where crude oil sourced from sanctioned nations like Russia is refined in countries such as India and Turkey and then exported to markets including the United States. This process underscores the challenges in enforcing sanctions and the intricate pathways through which oil products reach global consumers.
