Reliance Industries has partially offloaded a jet fuel cargo in Italy, India’s first export to the region since a European Union ban on products derived from Russian oil took effect on January 21, data from ship trackers and trade sources showed.
India is one of the top buyers of Russian crude, and market players are closely monitoring its refined oil exports to Europe for signs of trade disruptions that could drive up prices for supply from elsewhere.
The EU’s ban on importing products produced from Russian crude is aimed at curbing oil revenues Moscow uses to fund the Ukraine war. Reliance operates two refineries at its Jamnagar complex – one geared for exports and one for the domestic market.
It said on November 20 that it stopped processing Russian crude at its export-oriented facility. The Aframax tanker Liwa-Vchartered by Reliance, offloaded about 390,000 barrels of jet fuel, or around half its cargo, at the Fiumicino port near Rome between February 1 and February 4, Kpler, Vortexa and a trade source’s ship-tracking data showed.
