Overview
- The three vessels carry nearly 2.2 million barrels of Urals crude and are currently signaling Reliance’s west coast complex, with delivery expected early this month though destinations can still change.
- Reliance says it has no contractual obligation to receive Russian crude in January and denies purchasing these specific cargoes, while sourcing oil from non‑sanctioned Russian producers for domestic use.
- Kpler identifies the traders as Alghaf Marine DMCC, Redwood Global Supply FZ LLC, RusExport, and Ethos Energy, with Alghaf and Redwood on the UK sanctions list and Alghaf described as a successor to Litasco’s Middle East arm.
- U.S. sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil have pushed Russian exports toward smaller trading firms, reshaping how barrels reach Indian refiners.
- Trade‑flow estimates diverge for December 2025, with Kpler pointing to roughly 1.85 million barrels per day to India versus about 1.2 million barrels per day reported by LSEG data cited by Reuters.