New Delhi: Reliance Industries, operator of the world’s largest refining complex, may avoid buying Russian fuel for its plants following Western sanctions on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine, a senior company official said.
“Even if we can source some feeds (from Russia), maybe we will run out of it because of restrictions,” senior vice president and business head Cracker Rajesh Rawat said at an industry event on Wednesday.
Reliance buys Ural crude and straight run fuel oil from Russia for its refineries. The private refiner buys most of its petrochemical feedstock from the Middle East and the United States.
Sanctions on Russia have prompted many companies and countries to stay off their oil, disappointing Russian crude to record discount levels.
Rawat said most of the oil supplies from Russia to India are going to state-owned companies.
“So perhaps, those feed streams will still continue, or there may be less impact than the private sector players. Because we deal with banks, and even if we do some feed (from Russia). ) source, maybe we will be out of it because of sanctions,” Rawat told the Asia Refining and Petrochemical Summit.
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began on February 24, top refiner Indian Oil Corp has bought 3 million barrels of Russian Ural crude and Hindustan Petroleum has bought 2 million barrels of oil through tenders.