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Out of sheer curiosity, I spoke with multiple people across the **Indian oil ecosystem** to understand the current Russian crude situation.
First, I spoke to a **BPCL** sales manager. Then I spoke to an **Indian Oil** sales manager, who also happens to be a close friend. After that, I spoke to my cousin working at **Nayara Energy** ,he has held a senior position in the Mumbai region refinery operations. Finally, I spoke with a family friend who earlier worked at an HPCL refinery and still maintains strong internal contacts.
What all of them independently conveyed points to one uncomfortable conclusion: the current pressure on India—tariffs, diplomatic strain, and global backlash—can largely be traced back to the actions of one private company.
**Reliance**
According to the BPCL sales manager, BPCL, IOCL, and HPCL stopped buying Russian crude a long time ago. In fact, government OMCs were never able to fully benefit from discounted Russian oil due to taxation structures, compliance costs, and operational constraints. The primary beneficiaries of cheap Russian crude were the Government (through taxes), Reliance, and Nayara—not public oil companies and not Indian consumers.
The US, interestingly, has no issue with Nayara, despite its Russian ownership. They also have no issue with Indian government OMCs refining and selling fuel domestically. The red line for the US is very clear:
**Reliance** refining Russian crude and exporting that refined fuel to Europe and other global markets.
Nayara, on the other hand, has largely diverted its refined output into the Indian domestic market. Reliance has not. Reliance continues to buy Russian crude aggressively and sell refined products abroad. This, according to multiple insiders, is where the problem lies.
As a result, the actions of one company are now creating macro-level consequences for India’s economy and diplomacy.
The statement Reliance recently issued, claiming compliance and distancing itself, was reportedly directed by the Government in an attempt to shield India from punitive tariffs. However, the US leadership—particularly Trump—appears to believe that Reliance has been circumventing the spirit of the understanding. From their perspective, this is not an India problem; it is a Reliance problem that India has failed to rein in.
This is also why the narrative that “the US betrayed India” is misleading. According to these sources, the US feels betrayed, not the other way around. Trump was openly supportive of India when India justified Russian oil purchases as being in the interest of its citizens. But today, neither Indian consumers nor government OMCs are benefiting, while private exports continue.
This also explains why India’s so-called strongest international supporters have gone conspicuously silent.
Why has Trump suddenly stopped backing India so vocally?
Why is Netanyahu not intervening or mediating between India and the US?
The view shared was blunt: Israel feels betrayed after India’s increasingly open stance on Palestine-related issues. As a consequence, cooperation at intelligence and diplomatic levels has cooled. There are even claims—though unverified—of Mossad stepping back from assisting RAW on certain sensitive matters.
Whether all of this is officially acknowledged or not, the pattern is hard to ignore. What was earlier positioned as “India buying oil for its people” has, in reality, become a private profit play with national consequences—and the world has started responding accordingly.