Responding to the latest sanctions imposed by the European Union (EU) on Nayara Energy’s 20-million tonne refinery in Vadinar, Gujarat, the company alleged that the move was “unilateral” and founded on “baseless assertions.” It also said the EU’s action represented an “undue extension of authority” that ignores both international law and the sovereignty of India.
The company said it is now exploring all the legal avenues to address the situation.
“Nayara Energy strongly condemns the European Union’s unjust and unilateral decision to impose restrictive measures on our company. Nayara Energy operates in full compliance with the laws and regulations of India. As an Indian company, we are deeply committed to supporting the nation’s energy security and fostering economic growth,” the company said in a statement on Monday.
As part of a new slew of measures against Russia for its war against Ukraine, the European Union on Friday imposed sanctions on the Indian oil refinery of Russian energy major Rosneft and lowered the oil price cap.
In addition to this, the fresh sanctions include new banking restrictions and ban of Nord Stream pipelines.
EU move called out
“We categorically state that this unilateral move by the European Union is founded on baseless assertions, representing an undue extension of authority that ignores both international law and the sovereignty of India. It is to be noted that while many European countries continue to import Russian energy through various sources, they take a high moral ground by chastising and sanctioning an Indian asset for processing Russian crude largely used by its domestic population of 1.4 billion Indians and businesses,” Nayara Energy said.
Rosneft owns a 49.13% stake in Nayara Energy Ltd, formerly Essar Oil Ltd. Nayara owns and operates a 20 million tonne a year oil refinery at Vadinar in Gujarat as well as over 6,750 petrol pumps.
Post these sanctions, Nayara cannot export fuel such as petrol and diesel to European countries.
The company noted that such actions not only undermine India’s interests, but also risk disrupting the uninterrupted supply of petroleum products that are essential to millions of Indian citizens and industries.
Company reaffirms commitment
“We remain steadfast in our role as a reliable energy partner for India, and we urge all stakeholders to respect the principles of sovereignty and fair international conduct,” it said, adding that the company is actively exploring all legal and appropriate avenues to address the situation and to protect the interests of its operations, employees, and stakeholders.
The company ontributes to 8% of the country’s total refining capacity, ~7% of India’s retail petrol pump network and estimated 8% of polypropylene capacity.
The company primarily caters to the domestic market through India’s largest private fuel retail network, institutional sales and partnerships with other Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs).
“Nayara Energy remains steadfast to India’s growth story and invested since August 2017 over Rs 14,000 crore in various projects within India including upgrading existing refining facilities, investing in a new Petrochemical plant and other new infrastructure projects,” it said.
The company also said that it will continue to invest over Rs 70,000 crores in the long term towards petrochemicals, ethanol plants, marketing infrastructure expansion and refinery reliability including ESG projects.