From Crude Exporter To Fuel Importer: How Russia Turned To India Amid Ukrainian Attacks On Its Refineries

(MENAFN- Live Mint) India has emerged as a major supplier of gasoline to Russia as repeated Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian refineries have disrupted domestic fuel production and triggered a surge in fuel imports, according to ship-tracking data cited by PTI.

Indian refiners supplied nearly 1 million barrels of gasoline to Russia over the past two months, with most of the shipments coming from the Vadinar refinery in Gujarat, operated by Nayara Energy. Russia's state-owned oil company Rosneft owns a 50% stake in Nayara Energy.

Russia's seaborne gasoline imports rose to a record around 125,000 barrels per day in August, equivalent to about 470,000 tonnes for the month, according to energy analytics firm 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 is Russia importing gasoline?

Russia is one of the world's major crude oil exporters, but repeated Ukrainian attacks on its energy infrastructure have disrupted its refining capacity.

Vortexa said 32 attacks were carried out on Russian refineries during July and August, roughly one every other day. The attacks caused domestic gasoline production to fall by as much as 70%.

The disruption has forced Russia to import gasoline even as it continues to impose restrictions on fuel sales within the country.

Russia had already extended its full gasoline export ban for both producers and non-producers through the end of January 2027. Its diesel export ban was extended through September 1, 2026.

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India's growing role as a gasoline supplier comes against the backdrop of its increased purchases of Russian crude oil since the Russia-Ukraine war began.

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 the information cited by PTI. Russian crude accounted for more than half of India's total crude imports during June and July.

It is possible that some of the gasoline shipped from India to Russia was produced using Russian crude, according to the report.

This means Russian crude imported by Indian refiners may have been processed into petroleum products and subsequently exported back to Russia.

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Vortexa said around 55% of Russia's gasoline imports in August, or approximately 260,000 tonnes, arrived on sanctioned tonnage.

It also said all India-origin gasoline cargoes imported by Russia in August were transported on sanctioned fleets and involved dark ship-to-ship (STS) transfers in the Mediterranean.

Around 40% of Russia's total gasoline imports in August were moved through ship-to-ship transfers. Most of these operations were conducted with vessels switching off their Automatic Identification System (AIS) signals.

Russian diesel exports remain under pressure

While gasoline imports have surged, Russia's diesel exports have remained severely constrained because of the export restrictions, refinery damage and disruptions at fuel terminals.

Russia's seaborne diesel and gasoil exports stood at around 150,000 barrels per day through August 25, according to Vortexa. The figure was broadly unchanged from the previous month but was 610,000 barrels per 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 term, citing the country's historically lower gasoline-to-diesel production yields.

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