India’s exports of refined fuel are in the spotlight after last month’s European Union sanctions while U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened a tariff hike over its oil purchases from Russia.
The South Asian nation became the top buyer of Russian seaborne crude after Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Private refiners Reliance Industries and Nayara are Russia’s top Indian oil clients, trade data shows.
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India’s state refiners have stopped Russian oil purchases as the discounts narrowed and Trump warned countries not to by Moscow’s oil, industry sources said. From January 21, the EU will stop direct imports of fuels made from Russian oil.
Here are details of fuel exports from India’s two big private refiners.
NAYARA ENERGY
Nayara, recently sanctioned by the European Union, exported nearly 3 million tons of refined fuel in the first half of 2025, data from trade sources showed, or 30% of its total output.
Swiss-based trader Vitol was the top buyer of refined products from Nayara, including diesel and gasoline, for discharge in the United Arab Emirates and West Africa, the data showed.
Other buyers included Aramco Trading, Shell, and BP.
Nayara was forced to cut output at its 400,000-barrel-per-day refinery at the western port of Vadinar due to difficulties in securing ships for exports after the sanctions, Reuters reported.
The refiner, majority-owned by Russian entities including oil major Rosneft, sells about 70% of its refined fuels in India through more than 6,600 retail outlets, it said in a Delhi court filing.
RELIANCE INDUSTRIES
Reliance, operator of the world’s largest refining complex at Jamnagar, is a much bigger exporter.
Controlled by billionaire Mukesh Ambani, Reliance exported 21.66 million tons of refined products in the first six months of 2025 to buyers such as BP, Exxon Mobil, Glencore, Vitol and Trafigura, the data showed.
Top buyers of RIL’s refined fuels in H1 2025
Europe takes the biggest chunk, or 28%, of Reliance’s exports, according to the data analysed by Reuters.
Source: Reuters
