Russia reportedly bought gasoline produced by Nayara Energy through international traders as it deals with fuel shortages caused by Ukrainian attacks on its energy infrastructure.The identity of the supplier comes a day after Reuters reported that Russia had started importing gasoline from India by sea, but did not name the refiner involved.Nayara, in which Russian oil giant Rosneft owns a 49 per cent stake, has not yet confirmed on this development.Union Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said on Thursday that Indian companies were not directly selling fuel to Russia. However, he said Russian it was “”possible” buyers could be sourcing Indian-made fuel through trading firms.Since the European Union imposed sanctions on Nayara last July, the refiner has relied on traders to source crude and export refined fuels, as payments with customers and suppliers became more complicated. Its 400,000-barrels-per-day refinery at Vadinar in Gujarat now processes only Russian crude after other suppliers withdrew following the sanctions.Reuters had also reported on Wednesday, citing industry sources, that at least 60,000 metric tons of gasoline had already been shipped from India to Russia. One of the sources said two cargoes of 30,000-40,000 metric tons each had been dispatched.Documents reviewed by Reuters showed the tanker ‘Agni’ loaded gasoline at Vadinar on June 20 with Fujairah listed as its destination. But vessel-tracking data from LSEG showed the Cameroon-flagged ship sailed past Fujairah, entered the Suez Canal and continued north.
