Asia's richest businessman renounces purchases of russian oil

This was reported by Reuters.

A private oil refinery, which was previously the largest buyer of russian oil in India and worldwide, issued a statement refuting a Bloomberg report based on Kpler data that three ships loaded with russian oil were heading to its refinery in Jamnagar.

‘India has become the largest buyer of discounted russian seaborne oil since the start of the war in Ukraine in 2022. These purchases have drawn criticism from Western countries, which have imposed sanctions on russia's energy sector, arguing that oil revenues help finance Moscow's military efforts,’ the publication says. ‘With Reliance halting purchases of russian crude, oil imports from russia to India are expected to decline further in January, leaving China as Moscow's only major market.’

Meanwhile, Indian authorities have asked refineries to disclose information about purchases of russian and American oil on a weekly basis, Reuters sources said. They said they expect russian crude oil imports to fall below 1 million barrels per day as New Delhi seeks to strike a trade deal with Washington.

According to sources and analytics company Kpler, tougher US and European Union sanctions have already slowed russian oil supplies to India, which fell to a three-year low of about 1.2 million barrels per day in December, Reuters reports. This is about 40% less than in June, when it was about 2 million barrels per day.

As reported, on 2 January, Bloomberg reported that at least three tankers carrying russian oil were indicating Reliance Industries Ltd. on the west coast of India as their next destination.

Earlier, Reliance Industries purchased oil from the Middle East to replace russian supplies.

At the same time, Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries has purchased $33 billion worth of oil from russia since the start of the russian invasion of Ukraine.

According to estimates by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), this is about 8% of russia's total oil exports for the corresponding period, which amounted to about $410 billion.

Reliance, which has one of the world's largest oil refineries, became the main buyer of russian oil after Western embargoes and sanctions forced russia to redirect its supplies to Asia and sell oil at a discount.

According to Kpler, Reliance purchased about half of its imports from russia in the period up to August 2025.

Mukesh Ambani's fortune is estimated at about $100 billion, and he ranks 18th on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Source: NV, Reuters