india-criticises-eu-ban-on-russian-oil-products

India has strongly distanced itself from the European Union’s latest round of sanctions targeting Russia, insisting it does not back any “unilateral sanction measures” and warning against what it called double standards on energy trade.

In a statement on Friday, the Ministry of External Affairs said India remains a “responsible actor” in the global energy sector and considers energy security “a responsibility of paramount importance to meet the basic needs of its citizens”.

“We would stress that there should be no double standards, especially when it comes to energy trade,” a ministry spokesperson said.

The remarks came after Brussels announced its 18th package of sanctions against Moscow over the continuing Ukraine conflict. The latest measures are designed to hit Russian oil revenues harder, including a new ban on imports of refined petroleum products made from Russian crude.

For the first time, the European Union’s new restrictions also target India’s second-largest private refinery – Nayara Energy’s Vadinar plant in Gujarat. “For the first time, we’re designating a flag registry and the biggest Rosneft refinery in India,” EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on X.

By imposing sanctions on India’s flag registry – the official list of ships that fly the country’s flag – the EU can penalise any India-flagged vessel transporting Russian oil.

Nayara Energy’s Vadinar refinery, which can process up to 20 million tonnes of crude each year, is owned by an Indo-Russian consortium in which Russia’s Rosneft holds a 49% stake. The group acquired the refinery from India’s Essar Group in 2017 for $12.9 billion – the largest foreign investment in India’s refining sector at the time.

Since the Ukraine-Russia war escalated in Feb 2022, Russia became India’s largest oil supplier, accounting for nearly 40% of its crude imports. At the same time, New Delhi has emerged as a major exporter of refined fuels to Europe since 2023. The EU remains a significant buyer of Russian-origin crude processed at the Vadinar facility.

The EU’s new ban on fuels refined from Russian crude also poses a challenge to Reliance Industries, one of India’s largest petrochemicals, refining and oil exploration companies.