India-Russia gasoline imports stalled by high delivery costs

Gasoline shipments from India and Morocco are currently stalled at the port of Murmansk due to a significant price gap between international import costs and Russian domestic market rates. Importers are reportedly seeking between 110,000 and 150,000 rubles per ton for AI-92 gasoline, whereas the domestic exchange price in mid-August was approximately 77,600 rubles per ton.

The discrepancy is attributed to high logistics, insurance, and delivery costs associated with transporting fuel to the Russian Arctic. While the St. Petersburg International Mercantile Exchange (SPIMEX) established a trading platform at the Kola railway station in the Murmansk region to facilitate sales, transactions have yet to materialize. Russian regulators are pushing for imported fuel to be sold at domestic price levels, a move importers claim is economically unsustainable.

This shift toward imports highlights a paradox for Russia, a major global oil producer, which is currently facing refinery capacity issues and increased domestic demand. A major shipment of 42,000 tons of Indian gasoline arrived on August 5, supplied by Nayara Energy, a company in which Rosneft holds a 49.13% stake.