How an Abu Dhabi unit became vital for Reliance

An Abu Dhabi-based subsidiary of Reliance Industries, Reliance International Ltd, has emerged as one of the conglomerate's vital units in the face of shifting global oil trade and now accounts for nearly a fifth of the parent's consolidated revenue.

- Nehal Chaliawala & Varun Sood

Involved in the trading of oil, the company purchases crude oil from overseas suppliers and ships it to the Sikka port to be processed at Reliance's mammoth refinery at Jamnagar. It then purchases refined products from the refinery for supply overseas.

Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries is India's largest company by revenues and reported consolidated revenues of ₹10.71 trillion (around $125 billion) in fiscal 2025.

Oil-trading Reliance International had revenues of $3.9 billion in its first year of operations ending March 2022. However, revenues ballooned from the subsequent year, reaching $30.8 billion. The company reported an income of $58.1 billion for the 15-month period ending March 2025. This included income from both the sale of crude oil to Reliance Industries and the sale of refined petroleum products to other companies.

Mint could not ascertain whether this subsidiary is engaged in trading of Russian crude oil, but its surge in fortunes coincides with the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, which sent the global oil markets in a tizzy and made Russian oil available at steep discounts for Indian and Chinese buyers.

Since FY24, Reliance Industries has been classifying Reliance International as a material subsidiary, a tag shared by only five other of its units. The company defines material subsidiaries as those which have an income or net-worth exceeding a tenth of the company's consolidated income or net-worth, respectively.