Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on July 24, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 22, 2026
A Russian oil tanker diverted from Nayara Energy to Mundra port due to EU sanctions, affecting refinery operations. HMEL purchased the cargo.
By Nidhi Verma and Mohi Narayan
NEW DELHI (Reuters) -An oil tanker carrying Russian Urals crude has been diverted away from the EU-sanctioned Nayara Energy's Vadinar port in India to unload its cargo at the port of Mundra, according to shipping data and four industry sources on Thursday.
Two tankers have also skipped loading refined products from Vadinar port since Friday when Nayara, 49%-owned by oil producer Rosneft, was among companies targeted in a fresh package of sanctions imposed by the European Union on Russia.
The Omni tanker, carrying about 700,000 barrels of Urals, arrived at Vadinar port on July 18 and is now anchored off Mundra port, according to data from LSEG and Kpler and the sources on Thursday. Its destination was changed from Vadinar to Mundra on Wednesday, the data showed.
It was not immediately clear why the cargo was not unloaded at Vadinar.
The cargo has now been bought by a refinery operated by HPCL-Mittal Energy Ltd (HMEL), a joint venture between Hindustan Petroleum Corp and Mittal Energy Investments, the sources said.
HMEL operates a 226,000 barrel-per-day refinery in northern Punjab state.
HMEL and Nayara did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Nayara operates a 400,000-bpd refinery in western India.
(Reporting by Nidhi Verma and Mohi Narayan in New Delhi; Writing by Florence Tan; Editing by Louise Heavens and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
Crude oil is a naturally occurring, unrefined petroleum product composed of hydrocarbon deposits and other organic materials. It is extracted from the ground and refined into various products, including gasoline and diesel.
A tanker is a ship designed to transport liquids, such as crude oil, chemicals, or liquefied natural gas. They are built to safely carry large quantities of these substances across oceans and seas.
A refinery is an industrial facility where crude oil is processed and transformed into useful products like gasoline, diesel, and other petrochemicals through various refining processes.
Urals crude is a type of crude oil that is produced in Russia and is known for its medium density and sulfur content. It is a key benchmark for oil pricing in Europe and is often traded internationally.
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