'Blatantly untrue, tarnishing image': Reliance issues statement, denies Russian oil cargoes to Jamnagar

Reliance Industries dismissed reports claiming it had imported Russian oil at its Jamnagar refinery, calling them "blatantly untrue" and damaging to the company's reputation. Responding to a Bloomberg News report, the Mumbai-based conglomerate said it has not received any Russian oil cargo over the past three weeks and does not expect any deliveries of Russian crude in January.

In a statement shared on X, Reliance said the Bloomberg report, which claimed that "three vessels laden with Russian oil are heading for Reliance Industries Limited's Jamnagar refinery," was incorrect. The company also expressed disappointment that its denial was allegedly ignored before the report was published.

"Reliance Industries' Jamnagar refinery has not received any cargo of Russian oil in the past three weeks and is not expecting any Russian crude oil deliveries in January," the company said, adding that publishing such reports despite its clarification had tarnished its image.

The Bloomberg report titled 'Ships with Russian oil signal Reliance Plant as Destination' had cited shipping data suggesting Russian crude was moving towards India's west coast. Bloomberg also noted that a Reliance spokesperson had denied purchasing the cargoes and said the company had no committed Russian crude shipments scheduled for delivery in January.