New Delhi, Aug. 30 -- India has become a major supplier of petrol to Russia as repeated Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian refineries have disrupted domestic fuel production and pushed Moscow to seek more supplies from overseas, according to ship-tracking data and trade sources.
Russia's seaborne gasoline imports rose to a record level of about 125,000 barrels per day (kbd) in August, equivalent to an estimated 470,000 tonnes for the month, energy analytics firm Vortexa said. The increase follows attacks that have damaged refining capacity and reduced the availability of petrol inside the country.
Indian refiners supplied up to 1 million barrels of gasoline to Russia over the past two months, according to trade sources. Most of the shipments originated from the Vadinar refinery in Gujarat, operated by Nayara Energy, which is 50 per cent owned by Russian oil major Rosneft.
The growing fuel trade comes as India has sharply increased its purchases of Russian crude since 2022. Russian oil has become a major source of feedstock for Indian refiners, raising the possibility that some of the petrol now being shipped back to Russia was produced from Russian crude.
India imported more than 2.6 million barrels per day of Russian crude in June and July, up from around 1 million bpd in February. Russian crude accounted for more than half of India's total crude imports during those two months, as conflict in the Gulf tightened supplies from other sources.
Russia's gasoline shortage has been aggravated by attacks on its energy infrastructure, which have at times cut domestic production by as much as 70 per cent. The disruption has created a fuel supply gap even as Moscow continues to restrict fuel sales and has sought additional imports.
Besides India, Turkey and Morocco supplied gasoline to Russia in August. Russia extended its complete gasoline export ban for producers and non-producers through the end of January 2027. Its ban on diesel exports has been extended through September 1, 2026.
Logistics around the gasoline trade have also drawn attention. Vortexa said about 55 per cent, or roughly 260,000 tonnes, of Russia's gasoline imports in August arrived on sanctioned vessels. "All India-origin gasoline cargoes Russia imported in August were carried on sanctioned fleets and involved dark ship-to-ship (STS) transfers in the Mediterranean," the firm said.
Overall, about 40 per cent of Russia's August gasoline imports were transferred between ships, with most such operations conducted in the dark. Vessels involved typically switched off their automatic identification system (AIS) signals.
Russia's diesel exports remain under pressure. Vortexa recorded seaborne diesel and gasoil exports of about 150,000 bpd through August 25, unchanged from July but 610,000 bpd below a year earlier and 81 per cent below the five-year seasonal average.
Vortexa said 32 attacks targeted Russian refineries in July and August, averaging about one every other day. It expects Russia to continue importing some gasoline in the near term, partly because the country has historically produced less gasoline relative to diesel.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.