Russia’s top energy companies have approached Indian refiners seeking additional gasoline supplies after Ukrainian attacks disrupted a significant portion of the country’s refining capacity, Reuters reported on Wednesday, citing sources familiar with the matter.
The move marks an unusual shift in the energy trade relationship between India and Russia.
India is one of the largest buyers of Russian seaborne crude oil, with Indian refiners importing discounted Russian crude and processing it into fuels.
However, Moscow is now seeking refined fuel supplies from India as refinery outages put pressure on domestic gasoline availability.
Nearly 40 per cent of Russia’s refining capacity may remain offline for at least two months if there are no further attacks, the report said.
More from Business Russia's diesel export ban jolts global fuel markets as Ukrainian strikes deepen domestic fuel crisis India gets relief as US Senate cuts proposed Russia sanctions tariff from 500% to 100% Russian oil majors including Rosneft, Gazprom Neft and Lukoil have contacted Indian counterparts, including private and state-run refiners, seeking gasoline supplies, the report said.
The report said any potential supplies would likely be arranged through traders rather than direct deals between Russian and Indian companies.
Russia’s gasoline crisis deepens Russia is facing one of its worst gasoline shortages in recent years after Ukrainian drone strikes damaged refinery infrastructure and forced several facilities to reduce or halt operations.
The attacks have disrupted fuel production at a time when domestic demand remains high, prompting Moscow to look for alternative sources of supply.
A Reuters report earlier this month said traders had sold gasoline.
Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri had earlier said Indian companies were not directly selling fuel to Russia, but acknowledged that Russian buyers could potentially purchase Indian-origin fuel through traders.
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