5 min learnNew DelhiAug 27, 2026 05:20 AM IST
THE DAMAGE brought on by Ukrainian strikes to its oil refining infrastructure has compelled Russia — one of many greatest crude producers and refiners globally — to import gasoline, or petrol, together with from faraway India.
Whereas a bulk of Russian imports of petrol are from neighbouring Belarus and Kazakhstan, India is estimated to have dispatched over 1 million barrels over June and July, ship monitoring information signifies. In keeping with consultants, that is the primary occasion of Russia importing petrol from India.
Commerce sources mentioned the development has seemingly continued in August as properly, though information just isn’t but accessible. Nayara Power’s Vadinar refinery — which has vital Russian shareholding — is the principle Indian provider, they mentioned. In the meantime, massive volumes of Russian crude proceed to reach in India to feed Indian refineries, together with the Nayara Power facility, which signifies that among the gasoline being equipped to Russia is being derived from its personal oil refined in India.
This marks a change within the energy relationship between Moscow and New Delhi. For about 4 years now, India has been one of many high two patrons of Russian crude, the opposite being China. Russian oil, typically offered at engaging costs after Western sanctions disrupted Moscow’s conventional European markets within the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, now accounts for the lion’s share in India’s crude import basket.
Repeated Ukrainian drone assaults on Russian oil refineries, mixed with routine refinery upkeep, sturdy summer time season demand, and logistical bottlenecks, have compounded the issues for Moscow. Home provides of each petrol and diesel are impacted, however the nation continues to be comparatively snug with regard to diesel as its refining system is geared to supply way more diesel than its consumption.
However, Moscow has responded with restrictions on diesel exports as properly in a bid to have a cushty cushion forward of the winter season. Petrol, nevertheless, is a unique story. Exports are out of the query and reviews point out that limits have been positioned on the quantity of petrol that may be equipped to a automobile throughout quite a few gasoline stations in numerous areas of the nation.
“Gasoline has been significantly uncovered. Below regular working situations, Russian refinery output broadly covers home demand with solely restricted surplus accessible for exports, leaving the market with comparatively little buffer when refinery throughput falls…With refinery runs remaining depressed, Russia has responded by proscribing product exports and performed with product specs throughout a number of barrels to guard home availability,” Sumit Ritolia, modelling and refining supervisor at commodity market analytics supplier Kpler advised The Indian Specific.
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As per Kpler information, about 12,000 barrels per day (bps) of gasoline was exported from India to Russia in June, with the volumes leaping to about 21,000 bpd in July. Taken collectively, this quantities to shut to one million barrels of petrol being despatched to Russia through the two months. Moreover, some further volumes are anticipated to have reached Russia from India by means of a sequence of ship-t0-ship transfers and vessels with undeclared locations.
“A lot of the imported gasoline has come from Belarus. One among Belarus’s two refineries is 42% owned by a Russian consortium, and all of the crude processed at each of them comes from Russia. Kazakhstan can be one other close by possibility, but it surely can’t provide vital volumes…(it) is a internet importer. The seaborne commerce is extra fascinating. To date, Russia seems to have acquired 5 gasoline cargoes…Three of them have been cargoes of round 320,000–350,000 barrels from Vadinar,” Abu Dhabi-based power analyst Natalia Katona advised this newspaper.
One other cargo arrived by way of Morocco’s Tangier terminal, though its unique supply is unclear as Morocco doesn’t have an lively refinery. One other cargo of round 250,000 barrels was shipped from Turkey’s Mersin port. Katona mentioned that whereas there isn’t any refinery close to Mersin, a 500,000-barrel cargo from India had been discharged there a couple of week earlier. “I’d due to this fact not be shocked if each the Tangier and Mersin cargoes have been additionally of Indian origin,” she mentioned.
Consultants and commerce sources mentioned that going ahead, Russia is anticipated to start out importing petrol from Turkish refineries as properly, though India will surely stay an essential supply for Russia through the scarcity, provided that Indian refineries have surplus volumes accessible for export. Nayara Power, particularly, has petrol constructed from Russian crude and seems prepared to promote it to anybody prepared to purchase it, provided that its refinery is underneath European Union (EU) sanctions, based on Katona.
