America has imposed sanctions on two Russian oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil. According to sources, India is now preparing to drastically reduce Russian oil imports. Regarding this, Congress targeted the Central Government and described Narendra Modi as a weak Prime Minister. American sanctions are likely to affect Reliance Industries’ crude oil imports from Russia.

In December 2024, Reliance had signed an agreement with Russian company Rosneft to import 5 lakh barrels of Russian oil per day for 25 years. According to a Reuters report, a Reliance spokesperson said, “Russian oil imports are being re-evaluated. Reliance will adjust the purchase of Russian oil as per government guidelines.

PM Modi busy in obeying Trump’s order

Congress taunted about this and said that Narendra has once again surrendered before Trump’s threat. Congress said, “Trump ordered to stop buying oil from Russia, Modi immediately started following the order. Now the news is that Reliance will reduce buying oil from Russia. Reliance used to buy maximum crude oil from Russia. Trump has already told that by the end of this year, India will stop buying oil from Russia.”

Narendra Modi is weak Prime Minister: Congress

Congress said, “One thing is clear that Narendra Modi is a weak Prime Minister. This is the reason why India’s decisions are now being taken by Trump. Russia has been an old ally of India and under the pressure of Trump, Modi is spoiling relations with Russia. Narendra Modi has caused a lot of harm to the country with his ‘pappy-hugging’ foreign policy.

India will soon reduce buying Russian oil: Trump

US President Donald Trump once again reiterated that India has agreed to stop buying oil from Russia and will do so almost by the end of the year. Along with this, Trump said that this is a process and it will take some time. The US President also said that he will try to persuade China to do the same. China and India are the two largest buyers of Russian crude oil.

According to the report, Reliance has purchased a large consignment of crude oil from the Middle East and Brazil, which can be used to compensate for the Russian supply. Before America’s move, Reliance was considering stopping Russian oil imports for one of its two refineries.

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America has imposed sanctions on two Russian oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil. These are the two largest oil companies of Russia and the ban is likely to affect Moscow’s economy. The Trump administration has accused these companies of funding Russia for the ongoing war in Ukraine. Amidst all this, the biggest question remains that what impact will the US sanctions on two leading Russian oil companies have on India?

Russian economy will be affected

The new sanctions are likely to hit the Russian economy, as taxes from the oil and gas industries account for about a quarter of Moscow’s budget. China-India are the largest buyers of Russian oil and energy. Last year, China bought a record more than 100 million tons of Russian crude, accounting for about 20 percent of Beijing’s total energy imports. India has become the largest buyer of Russian crude oil after Russia attacked Ukraine in 2022. This year, India has imported 17 lakh barrels of oil per day from Russia in 9 months.

Government refineries busy reviewing documents

According to Reuters report, Indian government refineries are reviewing their Russian oil trade documents. This is being done to ensure that India will not get oil supplies from these two Russian companies after the US sanctions. Government refineries including Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat Petroleum Corporation, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation and Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals are reviewing the bill of lading documents for Russian crude.

What will be the impact of US sanctions on India?

The companies have not yet issued any statement on this matter. Anyway, Indian government refineries do not buy Russian oil directly from Rosneft and Lukoil. India purchases Russian crude oil through middlemen. According to the report of news agency PTI, US sanctions are likely to affect Reliance Industries’ crude oil imports from Russia, while government refineries can continue purchasing through middlemen for now.

Reliance Industries likely to be affected

The government is reportedly assessing the risks of these sanctions, but is unlikely to immediately stop the flow of Russian crude as they buy all the oil they need from traders, the majority of whom are European traders (who are outside the scope of the sanctions). Reliance Industries Limited may have to rebalance its imports as it buys crude oil directly from Russia’s Rosneft.

In December 2024, Reliance had signed a term agreement with Russian company Rosneft (which is now banned) to import 5 lakh barrels of Russian oil per day for 25 years. It also buys oil from middlemen. The two companies on which America has imposed sanctions export 31 lakh barrels of oil daily. Rosneft alone exports six percent of global oil production and almost half of Russia’s total oil production.

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