Reliance Industries has stopped importing Russian crude oil into its SEZ refinery from November 20, ahead of new product-import restrictions set to take effect on January 21, 2026. | Photo Credit:
“We have stopped importing Russian crude oil into our SEZ refinery with effect from November 20 (2025). From December 1, all product exports from the SEZ refinery will be obtained from non-Russian crude oil,” a RIL spokesperson said.
“This transition has been completed ahead of schedule to ensure full compliance with product-import restrictions coming into force on January 21 2026. The crude oil import in SEZ is a fully segregated facility catering to the production line in SEZ,” the spokesperson added.
Final liftings honoured
RIL also informed that all pre-committed liftings of Russian crude oil as of October 22, 2025, are being honoured, as all transport arrangements were already in place.
“The final such cargo was loaded on November 12. Any cargoes arriving on or after November 20 will be received and processed at our refinery in the Domestic Tariff Area (DTA). All operational activities ordinarily incident to such oil supply transactions can be completed, we believe, in a compliant way,” the company spokesperson assured.
Dual units advantage
As per trade sources, RIL’s dual-refinery structure—domestic and export-oriented units—offer strategic flexibility. It can allocate non-Russian crude to its export-oriented refinery and continue meeting various compliance standards, while processing Russian barrels at the domestic unit for other markets.
Besides, the oils-to-chemicals conglomerate with its integrated trading arm and extensive global marketing network has the commercial agility and logistical scale to rebalance trade flows, similar to the adjustments made during the US sanctions on Iran in 2018-19, explained one of the sources.
Published on November 20, 2025
