Rosneft, Russia’s largest oil producer, slammed the European Union’s new sanctions on India’s Nayara Energy as “unjustified and illegal,” warning that the move endangers India’s energy security and economic stability.

Rosneft issued a sharp rebuke to the EU’s 18th sanctions package targeting Russia over the Ukraine conflict. Among the entities named was Nayara Energy—an Indian refiner in which Rosneft holds a minority stake.

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“The Nayara Energy refinery is a strategically important asset for the Indian energy industry,” Rosneft said in a statement. “The imposition of sanctions against the refinery directly threatens India’s energy security and will have a negative impact on its economy.”

Rosneft emphasized that it owns less than 50% of Nayara and does not control the company, which it said is governed by an independent board. The Russian oil giant called the EU’s rationale for targeting the Indian firm “far-fetched and false,” asserting that Nayara is a fully Indian legal entity, pays taxes in India, and reinvests its profits into domestic refining, petrochemicals, and retail operations. “It has never paid dividends to shareholders,” the statement added.

The EU’s latest sanctions, approved Friday, are aimed at further isolating Russia’s energy sector by restricting its global economic ties. However, Rosneft accused the EU of overreach, claiming the sanctions violate international law and infringe on the sovereignty of third countries like India.

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“This is a clear attempt to destabilize global energy markets and engage in unfair competition,” Rosneft said.

The backlash comes amid deepening energy ties between India and Russia. Nayara Energy is a major supplier of petroleum products in India, and Rosneft has ongoing supply deals with Indian firms, including Reliance Industries.

Rosneft’s criticism reflects broader concerns in Moscow and New Delhi over the collateral impact of Western sanctions. The Russian firm framed the EU move as not just punitive to Russia, but disruptive to global energy flows and India’s domestic fuel market.

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Summary

Companies EU sanctions target Russian crude supply, impact uncertain

Iran nuclear talks for Friday may affect oil market dynamics

U.S. tariffs on EU imports could influence oil demand

SINGAPORE, July 21 (Reuters) – Oil prices were little changed on Monday as traders assess the impact of new European sanctions on Russian oil supply while they also worry about tariffs possibly weakening fuel demand as Middle East producers are raising output.

Brent crude futures fell 1 cent to $69.27 a barrel by 0153 GMT after settling 0.35% lower on Friday. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was at $67.44 a barrel, up 10 cents, following a 0.30% decline in the previous session.

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The European Union approved on Friday the 18th package of sanctions against Russia over the conflict in Ukraine , which also targeted India’s Nayara Energy, an exporter of oil products refined from Russian crude.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Friday that Russia had built up a certain immunity to Western sanctions.

The EU sanctions followed U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats last week to impose sanctions on buyers of Russian exports unless Russia agrees a peace deal in 50 days.

ING analysts said the lack of reaction from oil markets showed that the market is not convinced by the effectiveness of these sanctions.

“However, the part of the package likely to have the biggest market impact is the EU imposing an import ban on refined oil products processed from Russian oil in third countries,” the analysts led by Warren Patterson said.

“But clearly, it will be challenging to monitor crude oil inputs into refineries in these countries and, as a result, enforce the ban.”

Iran, another sanctioned oil producer, is due to hold nuclear talks in Istanbul with Britain, France and Germany on Friday, an Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Monday. That follows warnings by the three European countries that a failure to resume negotiations would lead to international sanctions being reimposed on Iran.

In the U.S., the number of operating oil rigs fell by two to 422 last week, the lowest since September 2021, Baker Hughes said on Friday.

U.S. tariffs on European Union imports are set to kick in on August 1, although U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on Sunday he was confident the United States could secure a trade deal with the bloc.

“U.S. tariff concerns will continue to weigh in the lead up to August 1 deadline, while some support may come from oil inventory data if it shows tight supply,” IG market analyst Tony Sycamore said.

“It feels very much like a $64-$70 range in play for the week ahead.”

Brent crude futures have traded between a low of $66.34 a barrel and a high of $71.53 after a ceasefire deal on June 24 halted the 12-day Israel-Iran war.

Reporting by Florence Tan; Editing by Jamie Freed and Christian Schmollinger

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As reported by the media Bloomberg

The Russian company “Rosneft” has expressed its position regarding the sanctions imposed by the European Union against the Indian oil refinery “Nayara Energy,” calling them “illegal and unjustified.” This company is a co-owner of the refinery, holding 49% of its shares, according to Bloomberg.

The “Nayara Energy” refinery has a processing capacity of about 400,000 barrels of oil per day and operates nearly 7,000 fuel retail outlets across India. In addition, “Rosneft” is working on establishing an integrated petrochemical plant located next to the refinery.

The company notes that “Rosneft” does not receive dividends from the refinery’s profits, and the refinery itself pays taxes in India, using the revenues to develop its refining and petrochemical capacities as well as its retail network.

After the sanctions were imposed, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of India emphasized that it does not support the EU’s unilateral sanctions against Indian companies, highlighting the importance of energy security for the citizens of India.

On July 18, the Council of the European Union adopted a new package of sanctions against Russia, which includes a number of restrictive measures:

Introduction of a dynamic price cap mechanism on Russian oil, setting the price 15% below the average market price, approximately $47.6 per barrel.

A ban on transactions related to the “Nord Stream 1” and “Nord Stream 2” pipelines, as well as the addition of 105 “shadow fleet” vessels to the sanctions lists.

Expansion of the ban on transactions through the SWIFT system to a complete prohibition, as well as restrictions on Russia’s access to advanced dual-use technologies.

These measures aim to further limit Russia’s ability to export oil and obtain technological support, as well as to strengthen control over financial operations related to Russian companies.

Rosneft says the new EU sanctions against India’s Nayara Energy refinery are allegedly unjustified and illegal, Bloomberg reports.

In particular, on Friday, the European Union adopted the 18th package of sanctions against Russia and its oil trade.

The measures adopted include sanctions against an Indian refinery, in which Rosneft owns 49.13%. The step was taken as the EU seeks to reduce the Kremlin’s revenues generated by oil exports from Russia to India.

Today, Rosneft said that the Nayara Energy refinery is fully taxed in India.

“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,” the statement said.

In addition, 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.”

On Friday, Indian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that his country “does not support any unilateral sanctions.”

Nayara

Nayara operates a 400 thousand barrels per day refinery and owns nearly 7 thousand gas stations across India. The company is also building an integrated petrochemical plant next to its refinery.

Currently, Nayara is jointly financed by Rosneft and the investment consortium SOV Kesani Enterprises, with the remaining shares owned by private investors.

According to local media, a Russian oil company sought to withdraw from the Indian venture because it could not repatriate its profits due to sanctions.

18th EU sanctions package

For the first time, the EU has included Chinese banks in the 18th package of sanctions against Russia. Among other foreign companies that helped the Kremlin, two Chinese financial institutions were blacklisted.

In addition, the new package of sanctions includes a price cap on Russian oil, a ban on transactions related to the Nord Stream gas pipeline, and more.

Read more about this in RBC-Ukraine’s article.

Russia has said it is open to peace with Ukraine but insists achieving its goals remains a priority, days after Donald Trump gave Moscow a 50-day deadline to agree to a ceasefire or face tougher sanctions. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov reiterated Russia’s demands on Sunday, including Ukraine withdrawing from Russia-annexed regions and abandoning its Nato aspirations – terms that Kyiv and its allies have rejected. “The main thing for us is to achieve our goals,” Peskov told state TV. “Our goals are clear.”

Ukrainian officials proposed a new round of peace talks this week, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Saturday, while Russian state media said on Sunday that no date had yet been set for the negotiations but Istanbul would probably remain the host city. A week ago Trump, the US president, threatened Russia with “severe tariffs” unless a peace deal was reached within 50 days and announced a rejuvenated pipeline for US weapons to reach Ukraine amid his frustration at unsuccessful talks to end the war.

Russian strikes on Ukraine’s capital on Monday killed at least one person and left a shop and a school on fire, city officials said. Four districts of Kyiv were attacked, with reports of burning residential buildings, a kiosk and a kindergarten, mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram. The entrance to the Lukyanivska metro station was also damaged, he added.

Russia’s biggest oil producer Rosneft has condemned European Union sanctions on India’s Nayara Energy refinery as unjustified and illegal, saying the restrictions directly threatened India’s energy security. The EU’s 18th package of sanctions against Russia over Ukraine was approved on Friday and is aimed at further hitting Russia’s oil and energy industry. Rosneft said on Sunday it held less than 50% in Nayara – one of the targeted companies – and called the EU’s justification for the sanctions “far-fetched and false in context”. The EU foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, has said the sanctions package is one of the strongest yet against Russia and “we will keep raising the costs, so stopping the aggression becomes the only path forward for Moscow”.

Two women were injured in southern Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region when a drone struck their house on Sunday, according to the regional military administration. Two more civilians were injured in the north-eastern Kharkiv province after a drone slammed into a residential building, local Ukrainian officials said.

Drones struck a leafy square in the centre of Sumy later on Sunday, wounding a woman and her seven-year-old son, officials said. The strike also damaged a power line, leaving about 100 households without electricity, according to Serhii Krivosheienko of the municipal military administration.

Ukraine’s air force said it shot down 18 of 57 Shahed-type and decoy drones launched by Russia overnight into Sunday, with seven more disappearing from radar. Russia’s defence ministry said its forces shot down 93 Ukrainian drones targeting Russian territory overnight, including at least 15 that appeared to head for Moscow.