India said they have no excess gasoline for Russia
Three state-owned Indian oil companies refused Russia's request to increase gasoline supplies, stating that they do not have additional volumes of fuel for export, Reuters reports , citing sources in Indian refineries.
Illustrative photo. Photo: AP Photo/Rajanish Kakade
Russian oil companies Rosneft and Gazprom Neft, which supply oil to the Indian market, approached Indian refineries with a request for additional batches of gasoline. They contacted both private and state-owned enterprises.
Among the state-owned refineries approached were the largest Indian companies: Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum, and Hindustan Petroleum. They responded that they do not have available fuel volumes for additional export.
Currently, only two consignments of Indian gasoline are heading to Russia. Both are supplied by Nayara Energy, in which Rosneft holds a 49% stake.
The first consignment — about 42,000 tons of gasoline — was loaded in June at India's largest refinery, Vadinar. The fuel was transshipped to another vessel off the coast of Egypt. It is expected to arrive at the Russian port of Vitino in the Murmansk region on July 26.
Another tanker with Indian gasoline is moving towards the Suez Canal. There, the fuel is to be reloaded onto another vessel, which will deliver it to one of the Russian ports.
The total volume of Indian supplies to Russia will be less than 100,000 tons of gasoline. At the same time, according to Energy Intelligence estimates, the deficit of petroleum products in the Russian market is about 400,000-600,000 tons per month.
Russia covers part of the shortage through imports from Belarus and Kazakhstan. According to Reuters, Belarusian refineries supply about 5,000-6,000 tons of gasoline to Russia per day. Kazakhstan agreed to send 50,000 tons of fuel as humanitarian aid.
The reason for the fuel shortage in Russia is attributed to strikes on oil refineries. According to Energy Intelligence estimates, approximately half of Russia's oil refining capacity is out of operation due to damage. Overall processing volumes have decreased to about 3.53 million barrels of oil per day — this could be the lowest figure since the early 2000s.
Experts note that it will be difficult to quickly restore fuel production. According to Reuters sources, even under favorable conditions, it will take about two months, assuming no additional refineries need to be shut down.