New Delhi:Reliance Industries has said that its Jamnagar refinery—the world’s largest refining complex—is not expected to receive any Russian crude oil in January 2026 and has not received any such shipments over the past three weeks.

The clarification follows the company’s November 20, 2025 announcement that it had stopped importing Russian oil for its export-oriented Special Economic Zone (SEZ) unit at Jamnagar. Reliance was responding to a media report that claimed Russian oil consignments were nearing the refinery.

In its statement, the company said, “Reliance Industries’ Jamnagar refinery has not received any cargo of Russian oil in the past approximately three weeks and is not expecting any Russian crude deliveries in January.”

Reliance Industries and Nayara Energy were previously the largest private-sector importers of Russian oil in India. However, Nayara—partly owned by Russia’s Rosneft—significantly scaled back its Russian crude purchases after being sanctioned by the European Union and the United Kingdom.

Russian oil imports have become a sensitive issue for India following the imposition of a 25% penalty tariff by U.S. President Donald Trump in August 2025 on Indian imports, citing New Delhi’s continued purchases of Russian crude.

Despite this, official government data shows that India increased its Russian oil imports to 7.7 million tonnes in November 2025—the highest level in six months—raising Russia’s share in India’s crude oil imports to 35.1%.

Reliance’s statement comes just two days after President Trump, on January 4, 2026, claimed that India had reduced its oil imports from Russia in recent months to “make him happy” and advance a trade agreement with the United States. He also warned that additional tariffs could be imposed swiftly if India continues buying Russian oil.