Reliance to move Dubai crude team back to India in global trade rejig: Report

Reliance Industries Ltd relocates crude trading team from Dubai to Mumbai, restructuring trading operations for efficiency.

India's Reliance Industries Ltd, operator of the world's biggest refining complex, is restructuring its trading operations, including moving most of its Dubai crude oil trading team back to Mumbai, two sources familiar with the plan said.

The relocation of its crude trading team by the end of this year comes after the private refiner secured long-term oil supplies from Russia, reducing the need to buy spot cargoes, said one of the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity as the information was private.

"Now Reliance has a crude import deal with Russia. It also has evergreen kind of crude import deals with major producers in the Middle East, so there is no need to incur extra cost for keeping the staff there," the source said.

Reliance did not respond to Reuters' email seeking comments.

In 2021, the private refiner, controlled by billionaire Mukesh Ambani, announced the opening of an office in UAE to trade oil and refined fuels including petrochemicals.

A year later, Reliance moved its crude trading team to Dubai as the city became the hub for Russian oil trade after the invasion of Ukraine by Moscow.

The conglomerate, which rarely used to buy Russian oil in the past, now imports about two-fifth of its oil needs from Moscow, data obtained from trade sources showed.