Russia imported nearly 460,000 tonnes of motor fuels in August via its ports as Moscow grappled with oil products shortages across several regions following Ukrainian drone attacks on key refineries, according to LSEG data and industry sources.
Over the past two weeks, drones struck and halted operations at several major refineries, including plants in Perm, Nizhny Novgorod, Kirishi and Yaroslavl, all significant producers of motor gasoline.
Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said in mid-August that Russia had begun importing fuel, but did not disclose any details on the volumes or sources of the imports.
Russia has also introduced a range of measures to support the domestic fuel market, including rail imports of gasoline from Belarus and Kazakhstan and a fuel exports ban.
The main bulk of seaborne imports in August, around 370,000 tonnes, consisted of gasoline from India, Turkey and Morocco, shipped to Russian Baltic and Arctic ports, traders said.
Reuters previously reported that Russia had also begun importing diesel by sea from Asia into ports in its Far East.
According to LSEG and market sources data, at least two additional gasoline cargoes totalling around 80,000 tonnes are expected to arrive at Russian ports within the next week.
Meanwhile, summer fuel demand is estimated at around 115,000 tonnes per day, according to Reuters calculations.
By the end of August, Russia's gasoline production had fallen to about 70 per cent of domestic consumption levels after a series of drone attacks forced major refineries to suspend operations, according to the data from industry sources.
(Reporting by Reuters. Editing by Louise Heavens)