India has emerged as a key supplier of petrol to Russia after Ukrainian drone attacks on refineries disrupted domestic fuel production, ship tracking and energy analytics data showed. Russia's seaborne gasoline imports rose to a record around 125,000 barrels per day in August, equivalent to a projected 470,000 tonnes (t) for the month, according to Vortexa. The surge prompted Moscow to seek foreign shipments as domestic output fell.

Indian refiners supplied as much as one million (mn) barrels of gasoline to Russia in the last two months, trade sources indicated, with much of the cargo linked to the Vadinar refinery in Gujarat operated by Nayara Energy, which is half owned by Rosneft. Since 2022 India has shifted a large share of its crude purchases towards Russia to secure feedstock for fuels such as petrol and diesel. The pivot has coincided with increased flows of refined product back to Russia.

India imported two point six mn barrels per day of Russian crude in June and July, up from a low of one mn barrels per day in February and accounting for more than half of the country’s crude imports. Some analysts said fuel exported to Russia may have been produced from Russian crude, reflecting tight refining balances and regional rerouting of cargoes. Turkey and Morocco also supplied gasoline to Russia in August as Moscow faced a widening mismatch between domestic supply and demand.

Vortexa reported that roughly 55 per cent, about 260,000 t, of Russia’s imported gasoline in August arrived on sanctioned tonnage and that around 40 per cent of shipments involved ship-to-ship transfers, many with automatic identification systems switched off. The firm recorded 32 attacks on Russian refineries in July and August, a pace that has exacerbated the supply crunch and left diesel exports constrained by bans and terminal disruptions. Moscow has extended export restrictions on gasoline and diesel into next year, which is likely to keep some product flows subject to tight controls.