Saudi Aramco, Iraq Company SOMO Stop Oil Sales to Nayara Energy
Saudi Aramco and Iraq's state oil firm SOMO have ceased crude oil sales to India's Nayara Energy following sanctions imposed by the European Union in July on the Russian-supported refiner, according to reports.
The suspension of supply from the two Gulf exporters indicates that Nayara, predominantly owned by Russian companies including the oil giant Rosneft, depended solely on Russia for its crude oil imports in August, as per sources and LSEG shipping data.
Nayara usually obtains approximately 2 million barrels of Iraqi crude and 1 million barrels of Saudi crude every month, but did not get deliveries from either supplier in August, according to shipping data from Kpler and LSEG.
SOMO and Nayara did not reply to requests for comments. Saudi Aramco refused to provide a statement.
According to two sources, the sanctions have caused payment issues for Nayara's acquisitions from SOMO, though no additional details were given.
The latest shipment of Basra crude from SOMO was unloaded for Nayara by the VLCC Kalliopi at Vadinar port on July 29, as reported by Kpler, LSEG, and information from industry sources.
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The private refiner acquired 1 million barrels of Arab Light transported by the VLCC Georgios, which was co-loaded with an equivalent volume of Basrah heavy on July 18, marking its final Saudi delivery, as per LSEG data.
Last month, a representative from the Russian Embassy in New Delhi stated that Nayara is obtaining direct supplies from Rosneft.
The private firm is running its Vadinar refinery in western India, which has a capacity of 400,000 barrels per day, at roughly 70-80 percent due to challenges in marketing its products caused by the sanctions.
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Nayara Energy, holding approximately 8 percent of India's 5.2 million barrel-per-day refining capacity, has faced challenges in fuel transportation since the EU sanctions, depending on dark fleet vessels as other shippers withdrew, as indicated by shipping reports and LSEG data.
The CEO of the company stepped down in July. Nayara revealed last week that it has appointed a senior executive from Azerbaijan's national oil firm SOCAR to be its chief executive.