India emerges as key petrol supplier to Russia as refinery attacks disrupt fuel supplies

Russia's fuel supply chain has been severely disrupted by Ukrainian drone attacks on its refineries, leading to a surge in Russian imports of gasoline (petrol) from India. According to ship tracking data, Russian gasoline imports reached a record 125,000 barrels per day in August, equivalent to 470,000 tonnes for the month. Indian refineries, particularly the Vadinar refinery in Gujarat operated by Nayara Energy, supplied up to 1 million barrels of gasoline in the last two months.

This comes as India pivoted towards Russia to meet its growing crude oil needs amid supply constraints from other sources. Since 2022, India's crude oil imports from Russia have hit a record high, accounting for more than half of the country's crude imports. The fuel exported to Russia may have been made from Russian crude. Russia, one of the world's largest crude exporters, has had to import gasoline due to a 70% drop in domestic production after the attacks.

However, Russia has imposed full export bans on gasoline and diesel, further exacerbating the fuel supply crunch. Around 55% of Russia's imported gasoline in August arrived on sanctioned tonnage via ship-to-ship transfers in the dark, highlighting the challenges in tracking and regulating maritime fuel transfers.