Russia is preparing to import jet fuel from Japan, Reuters reported on June 27, citing three sources. At least 200,000 barrels of fuel will be shipped from the port of Chiba in the first half of July.
According to the agency, the delivery will be arranged through several traders. The jet fuel will first be sent to South Korea, then transferred from one tanker to another near the port of Yeosu and directed to Russia. The final destination has not been disclosed.
A similar scheme was used before: in February 2022, Russia imported 22,000 barrels of jet fuel from Yeosu to Vladivostok, Reuters noted, citing data from the analytics service Kpler.
The shortage of aviation fuel in Russia is growing amid a series of Ukrainian drone strikes on oil refineries. On June 24, the regional airline Azimuth appealed to the Association of Air Transport Operators to request intervention by the Energy Ministry, according to The Bell. The airline's main supplier had notified it of the need to reduce fuel consumption by a third, and no alternative suppliers could be found. Since the beginning of June, kerosene prices at Russian airports have risen by an average of more than 17%, and in Makhachkala by 64%, to 157,000 rubles per ton excluding VAT.
Against this backdrop, Russia has already sharply increased jet fuel imports from Belarus. According to calculations by the Center for Price Indices, Russia imported 5,170 tons of fuel from Belarus in May — almost four times more than a year earlier. In the first ten days of June, deliveries had already reached 2,600 tons. Since June 1, authorities have imposed a temporary ban on the export of jet fuel from Russia, which will remain in effect until November 30.
At the same time, Russia is increasing gasoline imports. As Reuters found, traders are selling gasoline from India's Nayara Energy refinery, 49% of which is owned by Rosneft, to Russia. In addition, according to the agency, Belarus nearly tripled its rail deliveries of gasoline to Russia in the first half of June, to more than 70,000 tons.
In late June, Novaya Gazeta Europe reported that a shortage of aviation fuel was emerging in Russia. Airlines complained about reduced supplies and rising kerosene prices. Almost all regions of the country have various restrictions on fuel sales at gas stations, forcing people to stand in hours-long queues to fill their cars.