Indian refiners boost fuel shipments to Europe despite EU ban on Russian crude

Reliance Industries' Jamnagar refinery in Gujarat provided six of the seven cargoes that reached EU ports, despite the European Union's ban on fuel derived from Russian crude. According to CREA, the EU took €667 million of Indian fuel, while Australia, the United States and New Zealand imported €168 million, €154 million and €19 million respectively. Russian oil made up roughly 32 percent of Jamnagar's crude intake, and the value of EU-bound shipments rose about 80 percent, highlighted by a 104,000-tonne diesel cargo bound for Rotterdam.

Other Indian refineries, such as IOC's Paradip and Nayara Energy's Vadinar, also saw export growth, though Vadinar overtook Jamnagar as the top importer of Russian crude. Smaller facilities reduced Russian crude purchases, except for IOC's Mundra terminal, which received 570,000 tonnes in September after none in August. Overall, India remains Russia's second-largest fossil-fuel buyer, spending €4.1 billion on Russian hydrocarbons, mainly crude.