Nayara Energy Talks with Govt Amid EU Sanctions

New Delhi, Aug 14 (PTI) Russian oil giant Rosneft-backed Nayara Energy Ltd is in talks with the Indian government and trade partners to facilitate seamless transactions and maintain operational stability of its refinery that has been hit by EU sanctions.

Nayara Energy was one of the companies that was sanctioned as part of the European Union's 18th package of sanctions against Russia over its war in Ukraine. Since being sanctioned, the refiner has struggled to find ships to transport oil as well as banking channels to facilitate payments.

"In face of unjust sanctions by European Union, our refinery is operating at a healthy run rate and we continue to supply oil and oil products across India to meet the demands of our Indian consumers," the company said in a statement.

It, however, did not give the run rate at which the 20 million tonnes a year refinery at Vadinar in Gujarat was operating.

"Nayara Energy continues to place the highest priority on operational, environmental and personnel safety at its facilities and towards serving the franchisees at our retail outlets," it said. "Given our commitment to the Indian consumers and India's energy security, we are actively engaging with the various governmental authorities as well as all our counterparties and partners to facilitate seamless transactions and continue to maintain operational stability."

The firm did not elaborate.

Nayara last month denounced the latest EU sanctions against it as unjust and harmful to India's interests, and said it was studying legal options.

Rosneft too had condemned sanctions on Nayara Energy as unjustified, illegal, and described them as a direct threat to India's energy security.

Rosneft owns a 49.13 per cent 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.

Besides Rosneft, an investment consortium SPV, Kesani Enterprises Company, holds another 49.13 per cent stake in Nayara. Kesani is owned by Russia's United Capital Partners (UCP) and Hara Capital Sarl, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mareterra Group Holding (formerly Genera Group Holding S.p.A.).

"Despite the supply chain inhibitions caused due to the EU sanctions, we remain committed in maintaining reliable transportation of our products via coastal, rail, and road networks to efficiently serve our customers and ensure there is no impact to our Indian consumers. Our retail fuel stations continue to operate as usual while we diligently work to ensure uninterrupted fuel supplies across India," the company said in the statement on Thursday.