Russia imports gasoline from India made from its own crude, FT reports
Illustrative photo: an oil tanker (Getty Images)
Russia is awaiting a shipment of gasoline from India after being forced to import fuel after Ukrainian drone strikes on its oil refineries. The gasoline was produced from Russian crude oil, the Financial Times reports.
According to data from analytics firm Kpler, a tanker carrying 42,000 metric tons of gasoline produced at the Vadinar refinery in India is expected to arrive at an oil terminal in northern Russia on Sunday.
The fuel cargo was initially loaded onto the tanker Agni in Vadinar on June 18. On July 6, the entire shipment was transferred to the tanker Garnet off Egypt's Mediterranean coast. As of July 22, the Garnet was sailing north along the Norwegian coast.
The Financial Times noted that Russia's Rosneft owns a 49% stake in the Vadinar refinery, while more than 90% of the crude processed there comes from Russia.
The outlet said this adds an ironic twist to the situation, as refined Russian oil is being shipped back from the country that has become its primary seaborne importer since 2022.
Russia's fuel crisis
Over the past two months, Ukrainian drone strikes have put up to 40% of Russia's oil refining capacity out of operation, triggering fuel shortages that have affected around 50 million people across the country.
Following a series of strikes by Ukraine's Defense Forces on Russian refineries, fuel shortages have also reached Russia's military. According to reports, Russian troops are facing an acute shortage of gasoline and diesel needed to refuel military vehicles.
At the same time, Russian leader Vladimir Putin acknowledged problems with fuel but insisted that the situation was not critical.
Amid the shortages, Russia has begun diverting gasoline from Belarus that had originally been intended for export to Central Asian countries.
