Russia eyes gasoline imports from India amid refinery disruptions: Report

New Delhi: Russia is working to launch large‑scale seaborne gasoline imports from India to address a widening domestic fuel shortfall caused by a wave of Ukrainian drone strikes on refinery infrastructure, a new report has said.

The report from Ukraine-based Kyiv Post said draft amendments to Russia’s Tax Code would extend an existing subsidy mechanism for companies undertaking gasoline imports from India.

“Under the proposed rules, the subsidy would be calculated based on an indicative gasoline price on the Indian market and the cost of shipping fuel from Indian ports to Russia,” the report said.

The State Duma’s budget and tax committee has backed the bill, the media house said, citing an RBC report.

Russia’s subsidy support for Indian refined crude follows a sharp deterioration in Russian refining capacity as attacks intensified in 2026.

India became Russia’s largest buyer of crude, purchasing 1.5 to 2 million barrels following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

It reached a record of 2.66 million barrels per day in June 2026, a part of which is processed in Indian refineries and re-exported as petroleum products, including gasoline.

India’s total gasoline exports reached a record high of 4 lakh barrels per day in 2025, majorly imported by Asian countries.

Strikes on refineries have pushed Russia’s crude processing to its lowest level in two decades, cutting gasoline output by roughly 25 per cent.

Operating refineries are producing about 85,000 tonnes of gasoline per day against summer demand of around 1.11 lakh tonnes, leaving a structural daily shortfall of roughly 25,000 tonnes.

The shortfall now amounts to about 20 per cent of domestic consumption and has pushed wholesale gasoline prices above 100 rubles, the report said.

Russian light aircraft operators have begun substituting automobile gasoline for aviation fuel due to shortage and aviation fuel price surge, it noted.

IANS