Reliance Industries Denies Reports of Iranian Oil Purchase

Reliance Industries has rejected recent reports of a 5 million barrel Iranian crude purchase.

The Wire Staff

Reliance Industries has rejected recent reports of a 5 million barrel Iranian crude purchase.

reliance industries denies reports of iranian oil purchase

People queue up at a petrol pump amid rumours of fuel shortage in the wake of the West Asian conflict, in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, Wednesday, March 25, 2026. Photo: PTI.

New Delhi: Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) on Thursday (March 26), denied media reports that it had purchased crude oil of Iranian origin. In an official statement, the company said it “categorically rejects” such reports, describing them as “baseless” and “misleading”.

The clarification followed a Reuters report from March 24 that said Reliance had purchased 5 million barrels of Iranian crude from the state-owned National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC). The report cited unnamed sources and suggested the transaction was linked to a temporary waiver on sanctions against Iranian oil exports, issued by the United States.

The report said Reliance did not respond to emails seeking comment, while NIOC could not be reached for comment. According to the reported details, the US waiver covered the sale of Iranian oil shipments loaded on or before March 20.

In its Thursday statement, also reported by Reuters, Reliance Industries said it categorically rejects reports that it has purchased ‌crude oil of Iranian origin.

In response to some media reports about RIL buying Iranian oil, Reliance Industries Limited issues a clarification. It says, "Reliance Industries Limited categorically rejects recent media reports that the company has purchased crude oil of Iranian origin. These reports are… pic.twitter.com/zeyhUZbeX6
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) March 26, 2026

Shares of Reliance Industries Ltd closed at Rs 1,412.55 on March 25, up 0.08% for the day.

News of the purchase gained significance in light of the West Asia conflict, which has put pressure on diesel, oil and gas prices and supplies around the world. In India, IOCL recently revised significantly upwards the cost of industrial or bulk diesel. Retail prices of premium fuel were also recently hiked by state-owned companies, by around Rs 2 per litre. On Thursday, Russian Rosneft-owned Nayara, a petrol retailer, upped the prices of its petrol and diesel, effective today, effectively by up to Rs 5 and Rs 3 per litre, respectively.

This article went live on March twenty-sixth, two thousand twenty six, at thirty-eight minutes past eight in the evening.

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