From oil exporter to fuel importer: How Russia turned to India amid Ukrainian attacks on its refineries | Today’s news
India has become a major supplier of gasoline to Russia as repeated Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian refineries disrupted domestic fuel production and triggered a surge in fuel imports, according to ship tracking data cited by PTI.
Indian refiners have shipped nearly 1 million barrels of gasoline to Russia in the past two months, with most shipments coming from the Vadinar refinery in Gujarat, which is operated by Nayara Energy. Russian state oil company Rosneft owns a 50% stake in Nayara Energy.
Russia’s seaborne gasoline imports rose to a record 125,000 barrels per day in August, equivalent to about 470,000 tonnes per month, according to energy analyst Vortexa.
India, Turkey and Morocco were among the countries supplying gasoline to Russia during the month as Moscow faced a widening gap between domestic fuel production and demand.
Why does Russia import gasoline?
Russia is one of the world’s largest oil exporters, but repeated Ukrainian attacks on its energy infrastructure have disrupted its refining capacity.
Vortexa said there were 32 attacks on Russian refineries during July and August, roughly one every other day. The attacks caused domestic gasoline production to drop by up to 70%.
The disruption forced Russia to import gasoline, even as it continues to impose restrictions on fuel sales in the country.
Russia has already extended its total gasoline export ban for both producers and non-producers until the end of January 2027. Its diesel export ban has been extended until September 1, 2026.
Read also | The US has renewed an exemption from sanctions for countries to buy Russian oil
Oil trade between India and Russia
India’s growing role as a gasoline supplier comes on the back of its increased purchases of Russian oil since the start of the Russo-Ukraine war.
India imported more than 2.6 million barrels per day of Russian crude in June and July, compared with around 1 million barrels per day in February, according to information cited by PTI. Russian oil accounted for more than half of India’s total oil imports during June and July.
According to the report, it is possible that some of the petrol supplied from India to Russia was made from Russian oil.
This means that Russian oil imported by Indian refineries could be processed into petroleum products and then exported back to Russia.
Read also | Why Trump is reviving a tough oil sanctions law against Russia
Sanctioned vessels used for cargo from India
Vortexa said about 55% of Russia’s gasoline imports in August, or about 260,000 tonnes, arrived in approved tonnage.
It also said that all Indian-origin petrol cargoes imported by Russia in August were carried on approved fleets and included dark ship-to-ship (STS) transport in the Mediterranean.
About 40% of Russia’s total gasoline imports in August were moved through ship-to-ship transfers. Most of these operations were conducted with vessels that had turned off their Automatic Identification System (AIS) signals.
Russian diesel exports remain under pressure
While gasoline imports surged, Russia’s diesel exports remained severely limited due to export restrictions, damage to refineries and disruptions at fuel terminals.
Russian exports of diesel and gas oil from the sea were about 150,000 barrels per day through August 25, according to Vortexa. That number was essentially unchanged from the previous month, but was 610,000 barrels a day lower than a year earlier and 81% below the five-year seasonal average.
Vortexa expects Russia to continue importing some gasoline in the near future, citing historically lower yields from the country’s diesel-based gasoline production.
