India has emerged as a major supplier of gasoline to Russia, sending almost 1 million barrels of the fuel to the country over the past two months as Moscow faces a worsening domestic shortage.
Russia’s seaborne gasoline imports reached a record level of about 125,000 barrels per day (kbd) in August, equal to around 470,000 tonnes during the month, according to energy analytics firm Vortexa, according to the report.
India was among three countries supplying gasoline to Russia in August, along with Turkey and Morocco.
Much of the gasoline shipped to Russia came from Nayara Energy’s Vadinar refinery in Gujarat. The refinery is half-owned by Russia’s Rosneft.
India’s growing role as a gasoline supplier comes as the country has significantly increased its purchases of Russian crude since 2022.
India imported more than 2.6 million barrels per day of Russian crude in June and July, compared with 1 million barrels per day in February. During that period, Russian crude made up more than half of India’s crude imports.
India’s refiners may therefore have used Russian crude to produce some of the gasoline that was later shipped back to Russia.
Vortexa, as per the report, said nearly 55 per cent of Russia’s gasoline imports in August, or around 260,000 tonnes, 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 energy analytics firm said.
Around 40 per cent of Russia’s total gasoline imports in August were transported through ship-to-ship transfers. Most of these operations were carried out in the dark, with vessels switching off their automatic identification system (AIS) signals.
The increase in gasoline imports came after repeated Ukrainian drone attacks disrupted Russian refinery operations and sharply reduced domestic fuel production.
Russia’s domestic gasoline production fell by as much as 70 per cent following attacks on its energy infrastructure. The disruption has forced Moscow, one of the world’s biggest crude exporters, to import fuel to meet domestic demand while continuing to restrict fuel sales across the country.
Vortexa said 32 attacks were carried out on Russian refineries during July and August. This amounted to roughly one attack every other day.
The attacks have put further pressure on Russia’s fuel market as Moscow tries to maintain domestic supplies.
The fuel shortage has also affected Russia’s ability to export petroleum products. Moscow extended its full gasoline export ban for both producers and non-producers in July through the end of January 2027. Its diesel export ban was extended through September 1, 2026.
Russia’s seaborne diesel and gasoil exports stood at around 150,000 barrels per day through August 25, according to Vortexa.
The level was unchanged from the previous month but was 610,000 barrels per day below the same period a year earlier and 81 per cent below the five-year seasonal average.
Vortexa expects Russia to continue importing some gasoline in the near term.
The energy analytics firm cited Russia’s historically lower gasoline-to-diesel production yields as one reason for the continued need for overseas gasoline supplies.
