Reliance Industries Limited has resumed imports of Russian crude oil, sourcing barrels from non-sanctioned suppliers and routing them to its Jamnagar refinery complex in Gujarat, according to people familiar with the matter. The move marks the company’s return to the Russian oil market after a pause triggered by recent US sanctions. India’s largest refiner has contracted Aframax tankers from RusExport to deliver crude to its 660,000 barrels-per-day refinery at Jamnagar, which primarily supplies the domestic market, the sources said. Reliance’s renewed purchases are expected to partially offset the sharp decline in India’s Russian oil imports, which government officials have said could fall by more than half this month. Global oil markets have been closely tracking Russian export flows after Washington DC imposed sanctions in October on two of Russia’s largest producers in an effort to restrict funding for the war in Ukraine. Following the sanctions, Indian refiners were forced to either source crude from non-sanctioned Russian entities or turn to costlier alternatives from other regions, leading to expectations of a steep drop in Russian supplies. Reliance had paused Russian oil imports after the US sanctioned Rosneft PJSC and Lukoil PJSC on 22 October, allowing refiners a one-month window to wind down transactions with the two producers. The company, which operates the world’s largest refinery complex at Jamnagar, was granted an additional month to receive vessels contracted before the deadline. The final cargo under this exemption arrived in India on 17 December, just ahead of the waiver’s expiry. The Jamnagar complex includes two refineries: the 660,000 barrels-per-day unit focused on domestic sales and a 700,000 barrels-per-day export-oriented refinery. Reliance said last month that the export-focused unit last received a shipment of Russian crude on 20 November. Since then, all Russian oil imports have been directed to the refinery serving the domestic market. Earlier this month, government officials estimated that India’s oil imports from Russia could decline to around 800,000 barrels per day, down from an average of 1.9 million barrels per day in November, as refiners curtailed purchases following the sanctions.