Overseas miracle: Turkey, India and Singapore can compensate the Russian Federation for the missing volumes of gasoline

India, Turkey and Singapore can partially compensate for the shortage of gasoline on the Russian market after one of the Belarusian refineries is undergoing scheduled repairs, analysts interviewed by "Izvestia" believe. Currently, this neighboring republic remains the main external supplier of fuel to the Russian Federation: over the summer, it more than tripled its export volumes compared to the spring. However, shipments decreased slightly in August. At the same time, experts expect that Russia may reduce fuel imports by the end of the year. In autumn, the demand for gasoline and diesel traditionally decreases due to seasonal factors, so the need for additional volumes will be lower. Which countries can become alternative fuel suppliers is described in the "Izvestia" article.

Which countries can Russia buy fuel from?

The missing volumes of gasoline on the Russian market may partially compensate for supplies from India, Turkey and Singapore, Kirill Rodionov, an independent energy expert, believes. According to him, the former has the greatest export potential: the country has a significant excess production of this fuel.

Photo: Global Look Press/Olaf Krüger

As "Izvestia" previously reported, the first batch of Indian gasoline has already arrived at the port of Murmansk in August. It was not unloaded for several days due to the lack of agreement on the price. Later, more than 1 thousand tons of this batch were sold on the St. Petersburg Stock Exchange from August 19 to 21 at a price of 105 thousand rubles per ton. Part of the volume could be sold directly, outside of stock trading.

Turkey may become another potential source of supplies. The country is actively purchasing Russian oil and can process it at its refineries, after which it can return some of the oil products to our market, Kirill Rodionov noted. At the same time, according to Alexander Frolov, deputy director of the MGIMO MIEP, the republic's export opportunities for diesel are higher than for gasoline.

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Earlier, the media, citing data from S&P Global Commodities at Sea (CAS), reported that by the end of August, the Russian Federation was expecting the first shipment of gasoline from Turkey with a volume of about 200 thousand barrels.

Singapore can also become a source of supplies. This country is one of the world's largest oil products trading centers.: It processes imported oil, refuels ships and resells fuel. According to Kirill Rodionov, if necessary, the Russian Federation can purchase petroleum products in Singapore and deliver them by tankers.

Photo: Getty Images/Wayne Eastep

Azerbaijan can also supply small volumes, however, according to Alexander Frolov, such supplies will be able to cover only a small part of the needs of the Russian market.

Kazakhstan remains another destination. We are talking about the supply of about 70% of gasoline and diesel produced at the "Condensate" refinery. According to experts interviewed by "Izvestia", the annual volume of such supplies will not exceed 140 thousand tons, which roughly corresponds to the one—day fuel consumption in the Russian Federation. Alexander Frolov noted that Kazakhstan's export opportunities are limited due to its own ratio of production and demand for petroleum products.

In addition, the Reuters news agency, citing data from ship tracking systems, reported shipments to Russia of about 30 thousand tons of AI-92 from Morocco and almost the same volume from South Korea.

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In addition to the traditional supplier, Belarus, supplies to Russia are increasing in Kazakhstan, India and a number of other countries.

Belarus remains the main supplier of imported fuel for the Russian Federation. According to the Center for Price Indices (CIC), active gasoline supplies from this country began in September 2025. Over the summer, volumes more than tripled compared to spring, to 610 thousand tons, and diesel supplies more than doubled, to 388 thousand tons, the Central Research Center told "Izvestia". According to Sergey Tereshkin, CEO of Open Oil Market, in the summer, imports from the neighboring republic provided about 6% of Russian gasoline demand.

Maxim Dyachenko, Managing Partner of "Proleum" company, said that Belarusian fuel is sent primarily to the regions of the south and the center of the Russian Federation, where the shortage is most acute. At the same time, there are opportunities to further increase supplies, but they are limited — current supplies are already close to maximum.

Photo: IZVESTIA/Sergey Lantyukhov

By autumn, the total volume of gasoline imports from Belarus is likely to slightly exceed 600 thousand tons, Kirill Rodionov believes. At the same time, supplies may decrease in some months due to repairs at refineries.

""Izvestia" sent requests for fuel supplies to the Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation and Belarus, as well as to the concern "Belneftekhim".

According to Alexander Frolov, supplies from individual countries, except for the neighboring republic, will not be able to significantly affect the overall balance of the Russian market. In terms of oil equivalent, the Russian Federation requires about 3.5–4 million barrels of petroleum products per day, and the capacities of most of the neighboring countries do not allow for a significant share of this volume. However, cumulative imports help to close the local fuel shortage in certain regions.

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Periodic interruptions in the availability of fuel at gas stations began in Russia in early summer. The situation in the regions varies depending on the operation of oil refineries: when certain capacities are shut down, the supply on the market decreases.

Photo: IZVESTIA/Yulia Mayorova

The authorities have taken a number of measures to stabilize the situation. In particular, a ban on the export of petroleum products was introduced, sales of fuels with a lower environmental class were allowed, trading rules on the stock exchange were changed, and imports of gasoline and diesel began to saturate the domestic market.

According to Alexander Frolov, the largest volume of imports occurred in the second half of summer. In the coming months, according to his estimates, supplies may remain approximately at the current level. At the same time, Igor Yushkov, a leading analyst at the National Energy Security Fund, believes that Russia may reduce fuel imports by the end of the year. In autumn, the demand for gasoline and diesel usually decreases due to seasonal factors, which reduces the need for additional shipments.

In addition, as the government reported following a meeting on the fuel market on September 14, several additional installations have already started operating at Russian refineries. This allowed the enterprises to increase the output of petroleum products.

Photo: IZVESTIA/Anna Selina

Despite relatively small volumes compared to total consumption, imports help to compensate for fuel shortages in certain regions, Igor Yushkov noted. According to him, it is still difficult to accurately estimate the future production volumes in the country.