Reliance stops Russian oil imports to comply with EU’s guidelines:The 27 member states union to completely ban imports of fuel made using Russian crude from January 2026

Reliance Industries Limited has completely stopped using Russian crude in its export only SEZ refinery in Jamnagar. The company said that Russian crude imports to the SEZ unit have been stopped since 20 November 2025. From 1 December, all fuel exports from here will be made using non-Russian crude. However, Reliance will continue to use Russian crude oil for domestic use. The company took this decision to comply with European Union sanctions. From January 2026, any products made from Russian crude cannot be sold in the European Union Russian oil use will be stopped in export refinery Reliance has two refineries in the Jamnagar complex. One SEZ unit which only exports and another old unit which supplies to the domestic market. The company said that old Russian crude inventory is currently being processed in the SEZ unit. As soon as that is exhausted, new production will be only from non-Russian crude. Russian oil will be used for domestic consumption
Reliance spokesperson said, Import of Russian crude in SEZ refinery has been stopped from 20 November. From 1 December, all products from here will be made from non-Russian crude. They are informed that the committed Russian crude cargo until 22 October is being honored. The last cargo was loaded on 12 November. Russian cargo arriving on or after 20 November will be processed in the Domestic Tariff Area (DTA) refinery. Understand the whole matter in QA format: Question 1: What are the European Union’s sanctions on Russia?
Answer: The European Union (EU) has imposed several sanctions to stop Russia’s earnings after its attack on Ukraine. The most recent and biggest sanction is on Russian crude oil and its products (petrol, diesel, ATF etc). From January 2026, no products made from Russian oil can be sold in the EU. Question 2: Why does Reliance have to comply with these sanctions?
Answer: A part of Reliance’s Jamnagar refinery (SEZ unit) is exclusively for export and its major customer is the EU. Reliance buys Russian crude at cheaper rates, refines it into petrol-diesel, and sells it to Europe. Question 3: What could be the losses for not complying with sanctions?
Answer: Direct import of Russian crude is already banned in the EU. If any company makes fuel from Russian crude and sells it to the EU, that will also be banned. If Reliance continues to use Russian crude, its fuel won’t be able to sell in the EU from January 2026. This will result in losses worth billions of rupees every month. ​