The world's largest refinery has changed its mind about Russian oil: supplies are resuming

Reliance Industries, which owns the world's largest oil refinery, has resumed purchases of Russian oil.

"The Indian company Reliance Industries Ltd. has resumed purchases of Russian oil at reduced prices, receiving barrels from non—sanctioned suppliers and sending them to its refinery in Gujarat," Bloomberg reports citing sources.

According to them, the owner of the largest Indian oil refinery in Jamnagar has signed contracts with RusExport for the supply of oil by Aframax-class tankers to supply domestic consumers.

"The company's return to the market is likely to reduce the decline in purchases of Russian oil by India, which, according to officials, may be more than halved this month," the agency continues.

Earlier, Bloomberg wrote that tankers with Russian oil are accumulating off the coast of China, and the cost of shipment in Russian ports has dropped to $ 34 per barrel.

Some Indian refineries suspended purchases after the introduction of US sanctions against the two largest Russian oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil, in November. However, for example, the main state-owned company Indian Oil and Nayara Energy, which is partially owned by Rosneft, continued. Indian Oil stated that they would continue to buy Russian oil, but from suppliers who are not under sanctions.

Goldman Sachs and the International Energy Agency reported that the number of new oil supply companies from Russia is growing and, if Rosneft and Lukoil sharply reduced exports by 1.1 million barrels per day, new suppliers increased by 1 million barrels.

As EADaily reported, Donald Trump's first sanctions against Russia hit the country's main oil companies and delighted Ukraine's Western allies. At the same time, the market and experts reacted more calmly to the new restrictions. The main buyers of Russian oil will pretend that they refuse raw materials from Russia, but it will be temporary, they believe.

"Yes, of course, the logistics schemes of intermediaries will be reviewed due to the fact that Rosneft and "Lukoil "has been sanctioned, but this is a revision of the way to sell our oil, but not a revision of the principle of whether to buy Russian oil," said Igor Yushkov, a leading analyst at the National Oil Research and Financial University under the Government of Russia.

Sergey Vakulenko, a senior researcher at the Carnegie Berlin Center, noted at the same time that large Chinese and Indian refiners may still temporarily portray their readiness to abandon Lukoil and Rosneft oil, but only in order to start buying it again when Trump's attention switches, say, to Venezuela: "And smaller buyers and they won't do that."