India Supplies Record Petrol To Russia As Ukrainian Strikes Hit Russian Refineries: Report

India has emerged as a key supplier of petrol to Russia as repeated Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian refineries disrupt domestic fuel production and force Moscow to rely more heavily on imports.

Russia’s seaborne petrol imports surged to a record around 125,000 barrels per day in August, equivalent to about 470,000 tonnes for the month, according to energy analytics firm Vortexa. Indian refiners supplied as much as 1 million barrels of petrol over the past two months, with much of the supply coming from Nayara Energy’s Vadinar refinery in Gujarat, which is 50 per cent owned by Russia’s Rosneft.

Russia, one of the world’s largest crude exporters, has faced a growing fuel shortage after attacks on its energy infrastructure cut domestic petrol production by up to 70 per cent. Vortexa recorded 32 attacks on Russian refineries during July and August, roughly one every two days, worsening the gap between domestic fuel supply and demand.

India’s role comes as its purchases of Russian crude have surged since 2022. India imported more than 2.6 million barrels per day of Russian crude in June and July, compared with around 1 million bpd in February. Russian crude accounted for more than half of India’s crude imports during the period, meaning some petrol shipped back to Russia may have been produced from Russian crude processed in India.

India, Turkey and Morocco supplied petrol to Russia in August as Moscow struggled to meet domestic demand. Russia extended its full petrol export ban for producers and non producers through January 2027, while its diesel export ban was extended through September 1, 2026.

Vortexa said around 55 per cent of Russia’s August petrol imports, or about 260,000 tonnes, arrived on sanctioned vessels. All India origin cargoes were carried on sanctioned fleets and involved dark ship to ship transfers in the Mediterranean. Overall, around 40 per cent of August petrol imports moved through ship to ship transfers, mostly with vessels switching off their AIS signals.

Meanwhile, Russian diesel exports remain severely constrained. Seaborne diesel and gasoil exports were around 150,000 bpd through August 25, down 610,000 bpd from a year earlier and 81 per cent below the five year seasonal average.

Vortexa expects Russia to continue importing petrol in the near term, partly because its historically lower petrol to diesel production yields make it harder to quickly replace lost refinery output.