Athira Sethu
Kochi, 13 August 2025
One of India’s largest oil refining firms, Nayara Energy, is facing headwinds this month due to global sanctions.
Partially owned by Russian petroleum giant Rosneft, the firm was blacklisted by the European Union (EU) since July. Due to this, Nayara is getting much lesser crude oil than normal.
In August, Nayara will only get 94,000 barrels of crude oil per day. This is a significant decrease compared to last year, when it was receiving around 366,000 barrels per day in July and September.
Nayara has so far this month only taken four shipments of Russian oil, and the last one arrived on August 9. No further shipments are anticipated for the remainder of the month.
Oil Export and Supply Problems
Nayara’s refinery was operating at approximately 70% of its total capacity by the end of July. But if the supply of crude oil keeps declining, this figure may decrease further.
The company is also struggling to export petroleum products. Several shipping companies are shunning doing business with Nayara due to the sanctions. The company has utilized “dark fleet” tankers (ships that obscure their routes) to ship oil. Two such ships, Ocean Autumn and Varg, are at Nayara’s terminal, despite both being blacklisted by the UK and EU.
One diesel cargo was delayed offshore for several days, but it’s on its way to China now, which is India’s first China-bound diesel export in more than four years.
Domestic Transport and Banking Issues
Since some Indian shipping firms have also ceased doing business with Nayara, the company has begun transporting fuel within India via trucks and trains.
Nayara, too, is experiencing payment issues. Post-sanction, it is having difficulty in accepting and making payments. To safeguard itself, the firm now requires advance payments or letters of credit to ship fuel.
State Bank of India, the largest bank in India, has halted acceptance of Nayara’s foreign currency transactions. Nayara now is attempting to partner with small banks such as UCO Bank.
Nayara operates a 400,000 barrel-per-day refinery and has about 7,000 petrol pumps in India. It is also constructing a petrochemical plant adjacent to its refinery. Rosneft, an investment group, and certain retail investors jointly own it.
