Due to Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil refineries causing a serious deficit in the domestic market, Moscow has started importing automotive fuel from India. According to Kpler data, this is the first instance where the Russian capital purchases motor fuel from a South Asian country, indicating an escalation of the fuel crisis.
The first batch of fuel was received on August 5, and according to Kpler, other shipments may follow. The source of this fuel is the Indian refining company Nayara Energy Ltd., which is supported by Rosneft PJSC, Russia's largest oil producer. The fuel moves through a chain of tankers associated with Russia via transshipment operations near Egypt.
Sumit Ritolia, a lead analyst at Kpler, noted that the appearance of Indian batches is particularly significant. These cargoes supplement ongoing supplies from Belarus and other neighboring markets, highlighting the 'seriousness of the current domestic gasoline imbalance and the extent to which the reduction in refinery operating volumes is changing traditional trade flows for Russia.'
The global energy market is experiencing the consequences of two major conflicts: Kyiv continues to strike Russian refineries, while the US and Iran remain in tense relations in the Middle East. These combined disruptions have led to tightening fuel markets. Moscow, which traditionally acted as an exporter of fuel abroad, has banned the export of both gasoline and diesel fuel to ensure priority for local consumers.
Following a wave of attacks, EA Analytics calculated that in July, crude oil refining rates in Russia were 3.6 million barrels per day, approximately one-third below the seasonal norm. Since then, Kyiv has intensified its strikes, hitting five refiners last week and at least two more this week.
Nayara, which was sanctioned by the European Union last July, relies on so-called 'dark fleet' tankers and transshipment operations to obtain raw materials and export fuel. Its 400,000 barrels per day refinery in Vadinar, located in western India, is also forced to expand its export market after a key buyer, Hindustan Petroleum Corp., began producing more fuel domestically in the region.
According to vessel tracking data collected by Bloomberg, for the first shipment, the Russian product tanker Cyclone (formerly Agni) loaded a batch of 42,000 tons of gasoline in Vadinar on June 18. The fuel was then transshipped onto the Oman-flagged tanker Garnet at the port of Damietta, on the Mediterranean coast of Egypt, on July 6. This vessel reached Russia in early August.
Other batches of gasoline may follow. Kpler data indicates that the product tanker Varg loaded nearly 40,000 tons of fuel in Vadinar on July 6 and likely conducted an STS transshipment in Damietta at the end of July, judging by changes in its draft. STS operations are usually carried out to allow individual vessels to reduce transit time. Although the receiving vessel has not been confirmed, Kpler highlighted Beast as a possible option. The vessel was in Damietta and showed an increase in draft on July 30-31. Beast signaled a direction towards Tangier in Morocco but has since left that port and is heading north in the Atlantic Ocean with an untouched cargo.
Another product tanker, Photon, flying the Cameroonian flag, also left Vadinar on July 13 before transshipping its batch of gasoline in Damietta onto the Russian tanker Talisman on July 28-29.
These vessels were registered in the Russian registry, with the exception of Garnet. All of them are under EU sanctions, and Garnet and Talisman have also been subjected to US sanctions. Kpler stated in its report: 'The final destinations of Talisman and Beast remain unconfirmed, but the emerging trading model suggests that the STS hub in Damietta continues to facilitate the movement of Indian-origin gasoline into Russia's import channels.'
