Russia-backed Indian refiner condemns EU curbs, weighs legal options
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on July 21, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 22, 2026
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on July 21, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 22, 2026
Nayara Energy, backed by Russia, condemns EU sanctions and considers legal action, asserting the measures lack legal basis and plans significant investments.
By Nidhi Verma
NEW DELHI (Reuters) -Russia-backed Indian refiner Nayara Energy on Monday condemned the European Union's sanctions on it and said it was exploring legal options against the latest "restrictive measures".
On Friday, the EU approved its 18th package of sanctions against Russia over its war in Ukraine, which includes sanctions on Nayara Energy, a refinery backed by Russian oil major Rosneft.
"Nayara Energy strongly condemns the European Union’s unjust and unilateral decision to impose restrictive measures on our company," it said in a statement.
Rosneft holds a 49.13% stake in Nayara and a similar stake is owned by a consortium, Kesani Enterprises Co Ltd, led by Italy's Mareterra Group and Russian investment group United Capital Partners.
"We are actively exploring all legal and appropriate avenues to address this situation and to protect the interests of our operations, employees, and our stakeholders," Nayara said, asserting that the latest EU sanctions had "no legal basis".
The company, which operates a 400,000 barrels per day refinery in western India, has lined up more than 700 billion rupees ($8.1 billion) of investment for projects including petrochemicals and the expansion of its fuel retail stations.
"We categorically state that this unilateral move by the European Union is founded on baseless assertions, representing an undue extension of authority that ignores both international law and the sovereignty of India," it said.
India has said it does not support "unilateral sanctions" by the EU.
($1 = 86.2980 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Nidhi VermaEditing by Mark Potter)
Nayara Energy strongly condemns the European Union’s unjust decision to impose restrictive measures on the company.
Nayara Energy is exploring all legal and appropriate avenues to address the sanctions and protect the interests of its operations and stakeholders.
Nayara Energy has lined up more than 700 billion rupees ($8.1 billion) for projects including petrochemicals and expansion initiatives.
Rosneft holds a 49.13% stake in Nayara Energy, with a similar stake owned by a consortium led by Italy's Mareterra Group.
India has stated that it does not support unilateral sanctions imposed by the EU.
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