Reliance Industries Ltd. bought Middle Eastern crudes last week and may place more orders, in a sign that Western pressure against Russian flows may be starting to impact its procurement patterns.

The privately-held refiner bought at least 2.5 million barrels, including Iraq’s Basrah Medium, as well as Al-Shaheen and Qatar Land, said traders familiar with the matter, who asked not to be named as they’re not authorized to speak to the media. While Reliance’s typical diet does include crude from the region, the recent spurt of buying was more active than usual, the traders said.

On top of the flurry of spot purchases, Reliance has also been making enquiries to a large number of potential counterparties about the availability of oil from the region of quality similar to Russian crude, the t

See Full Page