India emerges as key petrol supplier to Russia as refinery attacks disrupt fuel supplies
India has become a primary supplier of gasoline to Russia as Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian refineries have significantly reduced domestic fuel production. This trade highlights the shifting energy landscape, with India processing Russian crude and exporting finished fuel back to Moscow.
Why it matters
This development underscores the complex global energy dependencies and the limitations of sanctions in preventing Russia from accessing refined petroleum products.
India has emerged as a key supplier of gasoline (petrol) to Russia amid a surge in Russian fuel imports triggered by Ukrainian drone attacks on refineries, ship tracking data showed.
Russia's seaborne gasoline imports surged to a record around 125,000 barrels per day (kbd) in August, equivalent to a projected 470,000 tonnes for the month, as repeated attacks on its refineries disrupted domestic fuel production, according to energy analytics firm Vortexa.
Indian refiners supplied as much as 1 million barrels of gasoline in the last two months, trade sources said. The supplies essentially came from Vadinar refinery in Gujarat, operated by Nayara Energy, which is half owned by Russia's Rosneft.
Since 2022, India has pivoted towards Russia to meet the bulk of its crude oil needs — raw material for making fuels like petrol and diesel.
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