Azernews.Az

By Alimat Aliyeva

Russia has begun importing automotive fuel from India amid shortages caused by Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil refineries, AzerNEWS reports.

According to available data, a shipment of around 42,000 tonnes of gasoline from the Nayara Energy refinery in Vadinar, India, arrived in Russia in early August.

The fuel was loaded onto a Russian-flagged tanker in mid-June and initially transported to Egypt. There, it was transferred to a vessel flying the Omani flag, which then continued to Russia. The shipment arrived in the country on August 5.

Analysts at Kpler said the unusual delivery route highlights the scale of the gasoline shortage in Russia’s domestic market. It also shows how disruptions at Russian refineries are beginning to reshape the traditional trade routes for the country’s petroleum products.

According to estimates by EA Analytics cited by Bloomberg, Russia’s oil-refining capacity stood at approximately 3.6 million barrels per day in July — more than 30% below the seasonal average.

At the same time, Russia’s oil exports have also been affected. Seaborne exports fell to their lowest level since May as the partial recovery in refining activity redirected some crude oil to domestic refineries. Ukrainian drone attacks have also disrupted operations at several major Russian ports.

Based on vessel-tracking data, Russia exported an average of 3.71 million barrels of crude oil per day by sea during the four weeks through August 9. However, exports fell to around 1.25 million barrels per day in the most recent week, compared with 1.5 million barrels a week earlier.

The fuel shortage is creating additional pressure on Russia’s domestic energy market. Earlier this year, Moscow imposed restrictions on diesel exports in an effort to maintain sufficient supplies inside the country. The restrictions were later extended until the end of the year.

The situation is particularly notable because Russia is one of the world’s major oil producers and traditionally exports large volumes of refined petroleum products. The fact that it is now importing gasoline from India illustrates how attacks on energy infrastructure can disrupt even major oil-producing economies and force them to seek alternative suppliers and more complicated trade routes.