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Russia has started importing gasoline from India for the first time as Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil refineries cause fuel shortages across the country,
a Bloomberg report said. According to shipping and commodity data provider Kpler, the first shipment arrived in Russia on August 5. More Indian gasoline could follow, highlighting how serious the shortage has become.
Why Russia Is Buying Fuel From India
The gasoline is being supplied by Nayara Energy, an Indian refiner backed by Russian oil giant Rosneft. The fuel is being transported through a complex route involving Russian-linked tankers and ship-to-ship transfers near Egypt, the report said.
“The emergence of Indian barrels is particularly notable,” said Sumit Ritolia, lead analyst at Kpler told the news outlet.
He said the Indian shipments, along with continued imports from Belarus and other nearby markets, show “the severity of the current domestic gasoline imbalance, and the extent to which lower refinery runs are reshaping Russia’s traditional product trade flows.”
Russia has traditionally been a major fuel exporter. However, Moscow has now banned gasoline and diesel exports to ensure enough fuel is available for domestic consumers.
The crisis has worsened after repeated Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries. EA Analytics estimated that Russia’s crude-processing rates fell to around 3.6 million barrels per day in July - about one-third below the seasonal average.
Ukraine has continued its attacks, striking five Russian oil-processing facilities last week and at least two more this week.
How Indian Gasoline Is Reaching Russia
The first shipment involved the Russian-flagged tanker Cyclone, which loaded around 42,000 tonnes of gasoline at Nayara Energy’s Vadinar refinery on India’s western coast on June 18, according to Bloomberg-compiled shipping data.
The cargo was later transferred to the Oman-flagged tanker Garnet at Egypt’s Damietta port on July 6. Garnet subsequently reached Russia in early August.
Another shipment could also be heading towards Russia. The tanker Varg loaded nearly 40,000 tonnes of gasoline at Vadinar on July 6 and likely transferred the fuel at Damietta later that month, according to Kpler.
A third tanker, Photon, left Vadinar on July 13 and transferred its gasoline cargo to the Russian-flagged Talisman at Damietta on July 28-29, the data showed.
The final destinations of some of these shipments remain unclear. However, Kpler said the pattern suggests that Damietta is increasingly being used as a transit point for Indian gasoline headed towards Russian import channels.
“The final destination of Talisman and Beast remain unconfirmed but the emerging trading pattern suggests Damietta STS hub continues to facilitate the movement of Indian-origin gasoline toward Russian import channels,” Kpler said in a report.
The shipments also come at a difficult time for Nayara Energy. After being sanctioned by the European Union last year, the company has increasingly relied on so-called dark-fleet tankers and ship-to-ship transfers to receive crude and export refined fuels.
Its 400,000-barrel-a-day refinery at Vadinar also needs to find new overseas buyers after Hindustan Petroleum recently increased its own fuel production in the region.
The developments come as global fuel markets face pressure from two major conflicts - the Russia-Ukraine war and the ongoing confrontation between the US and Iran in the Middle East.
