India’s Reliance ramps up diesel exports to Europe, Brazil in July

SINGAPORE/LONDON: India’s Reliance Industries ramped up diesel exports to Europe and Brazil in July, according to shiptracking data and trade sources, which could help ease tight supply globally caused by the US-Iran war and a Russian export ban.

The exports come after European diesel profit margins hit a record of USD74 a barrel on Wednesday as the region’s stockpiles have fallen to their lowest since 2014 and escalation in the Middle East conflict hit Gulf exports to Europe.

About 4 million to 5 million barrels of the industrial and transport fuel were loaded at the refiner’s Jamnagar site this month for Europe, according to data from Kpler, Vortexa and two trade sources, returning to levels seen before the US-Iran war started and the highest in 10 months. Reliance did not respond to a Reuters query seeking comment.

Another factor behind the higher exports is Russia’s ban on diesel exports for most of July after Ukrainian drone attacks damaged some refineries. Moscow is expected to extend the ban to August.

The world’s second largest crude importer, India has been stepping up fuel exports in the past year, capitalising on its position as a swing barrel supplier to markets both east and west of Suez.

Its diesel exports were at three-year highs in 2025, Kpler data showed.

Consultancy Energy Aspects expects Europe to face a shortfall of 833,000 barrels per day of middle distillates - diesel and jet fuel - in the third quarter.

The east-west spread, or the difference between ICE gasoil front month prices and Asia swaps, widened to discounts of nearly USD140 a ton in the past two trading sessions, versus USD80 a metric ton in the first four weeks of July, LSEG data showed.

EXPORT FLOWS TO EUROPE UNCERTAIN FOR AUGUST

However, for this tradeflow to extend into August, Europe has to “out-bid an East that is still paying up for the same cargoes”, said Sparta Commodities head of commodities James Noel-Beswick.

Despite the wider east-west spread, the economics for shipping diesel from India’s west coast using Long-Range 2 ships that can carry 90,000 metric tons (750,000 barrels) of the fuel to Asia is better than Europe in the first half of August compared with July, he added. Freight costs are slightly more than USD5 million to charter an LR2 tanker to ship refined fuels from west coast India to Europe, or USD55 a ton, according to shipping data.