EU Sanctions Against India’s Nayara ‘Unjustified,’ Rosneft Says

Newly imposed European sanctions against India’s Nayara Energy refinery are “unjustified and illegal,” according to Russian oil major Rosneft PJSC that co-owns the facility.

The European Union on Friday adopted the 18th package of restrictions targeting Russia and its oil trade in condemnation of the invasion in Ukraine. The measures included sanctions against the Indian crude-processing facility, in which Rosneft holds 49.13%, as the bloc seeks to reduce the Kremlin’s energy revenues that have been supported by Russian crude exports to India. 

Nayara Energy “is taxed entirely in India,” Rosneft said in a statement on its website on Sunday. “Nayara Energy shareholders have never received dividend payments and the accumulated profits have been used exclusively for the development of the refinery and petrochemicals and the company’s retail network in India,” it said.

Nayara operates a 400,000-barrel-per-day refinery and owns nearly 7,000 fuel outlets across India. It is also developing an integrated petrochemicals plant next to its refinery.

The ownership of Nayara is currently split between Rosneft and investment consortium SPV Kesani Enterprises Co., while the remaining shares are held by retail investors. The Russian oil producer has been keen to exit the Indian venture as the company hasn’t been able to repatriate its earnings due to sanctions, according to local media reports. 

Rosneft expects Nayara to “take measures to protect the legitimate interests of its shareholders and consumers, which will be supported by the governments of Russia and India,” according to its statement. On Friday, Randhir Jaiswal, a spokesman for India’s foreign ministry, said in statement on X that his country “does not subscribe to any unilateral sanction measures.”