Bloomberg: India changes course to Middle East oil instead of Russian
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Indian energy giant Reliance Industries has begun to buy oil from the Middle East more actively, which may indicate the impact of Western pressure on the country's imports of Russian energy. About writes Bloomberg.

According to the agency, last week Reliance purchased at least 2.5 million barrels of oil, including Iraq's Basrah Medium, Al-Shaheen, and Qatar Land. Although the company has previously purchased raw materials from the region, the pace of purchases has recently become much more active.

Reliance is the largest buyer of Russian oil in India and has traditionally used it as the main source of raw materials for its refineries in Jamnagar.

At the same time, according to traders, the company is also currently negotiating with various suppliers to purchase oil of similar quality, but not from Russia.

This change comes amid increased US pressure on India to cut Russian oil imports.

Earlier this month, US President Donald Trump said that India has agreed to completely stop purchasing Russian raw materials, but the government in New Delhi has not officially confirmed this.

Indian refiners only say they can "somewhat reduce" but not completely stop imports from Russia.

In addition, the European Union plans to impose a ban on imports of fuel produced from Russian oil starting January 21, 2026. This may affect Reliance's exports of petroleum products to the EU.

In its official recommendations, the European Commission has already named India among the countries with which cooperation requires "additional verification of the origin of oil."

  • October 16, Trump said the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised him to stop buying oil from Russia.
  • On October 17, two oil refining companies from India bought 4 million barrels of crude oil from Guyana from the American company Exxon Mobil for delivery in late 2025 and early 2026. For India, purchasing oil from South America is rare.
  • On October 20, Trump promised leave "huge" tariffs for India if it does not stop importing Russian oil.