Saudi Aramco and Iraq’s state oil company SOMO have suspended crude sales to India’s Nayara Energy after European Union sanctions were imposed in July on the Russian-backed refiner, three sources told Reuters.
The move has left Nayara, majority-owned by Rosneft and other Russian entities, dependent entirely on Russian crude in August, according to LSEG and Kpler shipping data.
Nayara normally imports about 2 million barrels a month of Iraqi crude and one million barrels from Saudi Arabia, but received no shipments from either supplier in August. Its last Saudi cargo was delivered July 18, and the final Iraqi shipment arrived July 29, the data showed.
Two sources said sanctions had caused payment complications for purchases from SOMO, without giving details.
Nayara and SOMO did not comment, while Saudi Aramco also declined to respond.
The company’s 400,000-barrel-per-day Vadinar refinery in western India is running at only 70–80% capacity, as sanctions disrupt fuel sales and shipping. Nayara has increasingly relied on so-called “dark fleet” tankers after mainstream shippers pulled back.
Nayara, which accounts for about 8% of India’s refining capacity, saw its chief executive resign in July. Last week, it appointed a senior executive from Azerbaijan’s SOCAR as the new CEO.
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