Reliance & other Indian private refiners dominate buying of main Russia oil grade

India has taken 80% of Russian seaborne exports of its flagship oil grade so far this year, with the country’s only two private refineries scooping up a growing portion of the cut-price crude.

The South Asian nation has bought 231 million barrels of Urals in the year through June 24, according to data analytics provider Kpler. Reliance Industries Ltd. and Nayara Energy Ltd. alone took 45% of Russia’s shipments of the medium-sour variety.

India’s increasing dominance as a buyer of Urals — it took 74% of exports of the grade in 2024 — highlights the country’s dependence on Russian energy, as well as its importance as a revenue generator for the Kremlin. Chinese independent refineries, known as teapots, have traditionally been enthusiastic buyers of Russian oil, but they’re getting squeezed by a stricter tax regime and weak local demand this year.

The portion of Urals being purchased by the two private Indian refiners has been rising steadily over the last few years, and has jumped sharply so far in 2025. Reliance — which has taken 77 million barrels of the grade this year — is now the world’s single biggest buyer of Urals.

The refiner, owned by Indian tycoon Mukesh Ambani, entered into a 10-year agreement with Russia to buy as much as 500,000 barrels a day of oil from January. Urals now makes up 36% of all of Reliance’s crude purchases, up from 10% in 2022, according to Kpler. The grade accounts for a whopping 72% of Nayara’s oil buying, compared with 27% three years ago.

India’s major state-owned refiners — Indian Oil Corp., Bharat Petroleum Corp. and Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd. — haven’t entered into any term deals with Russia and are more constrained in the currencies they can use to buy their crude.

The appetite of Reliance and Nayara for Russian oil has also squeezed supplies of Urals and narrowed the spot market discounts to Dated Brent for India’s state-owned refiners to less than $2 a barrel from $4 in the second quarter of last year, according to people involved in the trade who asked not to be named because the information isn’t public.

Hindustan Petroleum is pursuing a more diversified buying strategy for 2025, bringing in barrels from places like Gabon and the Republic of the Congo, said Yan Rong Fong, an oil market analyst at Kpler.

“With OPEC+ signaling its intent to regain market share, we anticipate an increase in Middle Eastern crude availability over the remainder of the year,” she said. “This could potentially lead to higher Middle Eastern flows to India, particularly from Saudi Arabia.”

Reliance, Nayara, Indian Oil, Hindustan Petroleum and Bharat Petroleum didn’t reply to emails seeking comment.