India becomes key oil supplier to Russia amid attacks on refineries and fuel shortages

India has become a major energy supplier to Russia, exporting nearly 1 million barrels of gasoline in the past two months, as Moscow turned to foreign supplies amid a worsening domestic fuel shortage.Russian seaborne gasoline imports hit a record of around 125,000 barrels per day (kbd) in August, equivalent to around 470,000 tonnes for the month, according to energy analysis firm Vortexa.India was among three countries that supplied gasoline to Russia during the month, along with Türkiye and Morocco.

India increases oil supplies to Russia

Shipments largely come from Nayara Energy’s Vadinar refinery in Gujarat, which is partly owned by Russia’s Rosneft.India’s role as a gasoline supplier comes against the backdrop of its biggest 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 bpd in February. During the period, Russian crude accounted for more than half of India’s crude oil imports.Therefore, Indian refineries may have used Russian crude oil to produce some of the gasoline subsequently shipped to Russia.Vortexa said almost 55 percent of Russian gasoline imports in August, or about 260,000 tons, arrived in sanctioned tonnage.“All cargoes of Indian-origin gasoline that Russia imported in August were transported in sanctioned fleets and involved dark ship-to-ship (STS) transfers in the Mediterranean,” it said.About 40 percent of Russia’s total gasoline imports in August were made through ship-to-ship transfers. Most of those operations were carried out in the dark, with the ships turning off their automatic identification system (AIS) signals.

Drone attacks disrupt Russian fuel production

The surge in gasoline imports came after repeated Ukrainian drone attacks disrupted operations at Russian refineries and sharply reduced domestic fuel production.Russia’s domestic gasoline production fell by up to 70 percent following attacks on its energy infrastructure. The disruption has forced Moscow, one of the world’s largest crude oil 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, roughly equivalent to one attack every two days.Fuel shortages have also affected Russia’s ability to export petroleum products. Moscow extended its total gasoline export ban for producers and non-producers in July until the end of January 2027. Its diesel export ban was extended until September 1, 2026.Russia’s seaborne diesel and gasoil exports were around 150,000 bpd as of August 25, Vortexa said. The level was stable from the previous month, but 610,000 bpd below the previous year’s level and 81 percent 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.