India’s Russian oil imports driven by Asia’s richest
The global energy map has been shifting rapidly since the war in Ukraine began, and India has found itself right at the center of the story. At the heart of it all lies Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), Asia’s most powerful conglomerate, run by Mukesh Ambani — the richest man on the continent. For Reliance, Russian crude oil has become both a lifeline and a lightning rod, attracting scrutiny from Washington while reshaping India’s energy basket.
Before the war in Ukraine, Russia was hardly a big player in India’s oil imports. Reliance sourced just around 3 percent of its crude from Moscow. But the conflict changed everything. With the West imposing sanctions and a price cap on Russian oil, Indian refiners — led by Reliance — suddenly had access to deeply discounted barrels. For a price-sensitive energy consumer like India, this was irresistible.
Today, Reliance’s Jamnagar refinery, one of the largest refining complexes in the world, is at the forefront of this transformation. In just the first seven months of 2025, the refinery imported 18.3 million tonnes of crude oil from Russia, worth an estimated \$8.7 billion. That figure represents a massive 64 percent increase compared with the same period a year earlier. To put it in perspective, Reliance’s Russian imports in those seven months alone were only about 12 percent lower than the entirety of 2024. This illustrates just how dependent the company has become on Russia’s cut-price crude.
But while the economics make sense, geopolitics has introduced tension. On July 30, U.S. His post bluntly declared: “India was Russia’s largest buyer of ENERGY, along with China, at a time when everyone wants Russia to STOP THE KILLING IN UKRAINE – ALL THINGS NOT GOOD!” Soon after, Trump slapped an additional 25 percent tariff on Indian imports tied to Russian energy, instantly placing New Delhi in the highest tariff tier among U.S. partners.
For Washington, this isn’t just about oil; it’s about politics. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent even told CNBC on August 19 that “some of the richest families in India” were the ones benefiting most from the trade, a veiled reference to Ambani and his sprawling energy empire.
Analysts, however, see the situation differently. Vaibhav Raghunandan, a European Union–Russia expert at CREA, points out that the entire price cap regime was designed to strike a delicate balance: choke Moscow’s revenues while keeping oil flowing to world markets. For countries like India and China, this was an open invitation to buy more — and Reliance simply seized the opportunity. “A lowered price cap is technically supposed to make this oil more attractive for countries like India and China, but restrict Russian revenues,” Raghunandan said.
In reality, it has left Reliance in a paradoxical position: a winner in the global oil market, but also a target in Washington’s crosshairs. For Mukesh Ambani, the bet on Russian crude has meant cheaper inputs for his refinery and stronger margins for his company. For India, it has meant affordable energy security in turbulent times. Yet the question lingers — at what diplomatic cost?
As the world watches the war grind on, Reliance’s Russian crude imports will remain more than just a business story. They symbolize the hard choices India faces: how to fuel its economy, preserve old friendships, and still navigate the pressures of a volatile global order.