Fuel Fugitives: How Russia Is Quietly Importing Petrol From Its Biggest Oil Customer, India

Russia is turning to India for gasoline supplies as sustained Ukrainian drone and missile strikes cripple its domestic refining capacity, marking a striking reversal in an energy relationship long defined by India's massive purchases of Russian crude. According to Reuters, several of Russia's largest energy companies have approached both private and state owned Indian refineries seeking additional fuel shipments, even as India remains the world's biggest buyer of Russian seaborne crude oil.

At least 60,000 metric tonnes of Indian petrol, roughly 510,000 barrels, has already been dispatched to Russia aboard two tankers carrying 30,000 to 40,000 tonnes each, with Russian buyers reportedly planning to import close to 400,000 tonnes a month if further deals are finalised. Ship tracking data from Kpler showed the tanker Agni loaded around 42,000 tonnes of petrol from Nayara Energy's Vadinar port between June 18 and 20, before transferring the cargo to the vessel MV Garnet off Egypt's coast in early July, with the shipment expected to reach Russia's Vitino port around July 26. A second tanker, Varg , has reportedly filled up at Vadinar and is now heading toward the Suez region.

Ukrainian strikes have knocked out an estimated 25 to 30 percent of Russia's refining capacity, pushing domestic output to a 21 year low even as summer gasoline demand runs near 110,000 tonnes daily, leaving Moscow facing a deficit of roughly 25,000 tonnes a day. The Associated Press has counted more than 50 Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries, depots and energy infrastructure since March, triggering fuel rationing and long queues at pumps nationwide. One industry source said nearly 40 percent of Russia's refining capacity is unlikely to resume for at least two months absent further strikes, prompting Russian lawmakers to approve tax subsidies for fuel imports. Russia currently holds ample diesel reserves but may seek diesel imports too if the damage worsens.

Union Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said Indian firms do not directly sell fuel to Russia, though Russia may be sourcing Indian origin petroleum through international traders. The gasoline has been linked to Nayara's Vadinar refinery , in which Russia's Rosneft holds a 49 percent stake, and which has run almost entirely on Russian crude and traded through intermediaries since European Union sanctions hit the plant in July last year.