Morocco emerged in August as one of the three largest international suppliers of gasoline to Russia, with flows reaching around 30,000 barrels per day, according to energy analytics platform Vortexa, as Moscow’s seaborne gasoline imports surged to record levels amid Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries and continued restrictions on fuel exports.
Vortexa, which tracks global energy markets and maritime flows, said Russia imported around 125,000 barrels of gasoline per day by sea in August, equivalent to approximately 470,000 tons for the full month. The volume marks a record high for a country that is itself one of the world’s largest oil and refined-products producers.
Data accompanying Vortexa’s analysis places Morocco alongside India and Turkey among Russia’s three leading gasoline suppliers in August, with Moroccan-linked flows reaching roughly 30,000 barrels per day. South Korea and Egypt also contributed to Russia’s imports, but at significantly lower levels.
The figures also show a sharp month-on-month increase in Morocco-linked gasoline flows. Morocco accounted for around 10,000 barrels per day in July, before the volume climbed to approximately 30,000 barrels per day in August.
The development comes as Russia has increasingly turned to overseas markets to secure gasoline supplies after repeated attacks disrupted its domestic refining capacity. Moscow has also maintained restrictions on fuel exports in an effort to keep sufficient supplies available for its domestic market.
In July, Russia extended its full gasoline export ban for both producers and non-producers until the end of January 2027. Restrictions on diesel exports were also extended until September 1, 2026.
Vortexa linked the sharp rise in gasoline imports to an intensive Ukrainian drone campaign against Russian refineries and oil infrastructure. The platform recorded 32 refinery attacks across July and August, roughly one every two days, disrupting production at several major facilities.
The impact has also been felt in Russia’s diesel market. Seaborne diesel and gasoil exports remained around 150,000 barrels per day during the first 25 days of August, according to Vortexa, down sharply from a year earlier and well below the five-year seasonal average.
The growing role of foreign suppliers has also raised questions over the shipping networks being used to bring fuel into Russia. Vortexa said around 55% of Russia’s gasoline imports in August, or about 260,000 tons, arrived on sanctioned vessels, while roughly 40% of total gasoline imports were moved through ship-to-ship transfers.
The platform noted that many of those transfers were conducted covertly, with vessels switching off their automatic identification system signals. However, Vortexa does not state that the Moroccan-linked cargoes were transported on sanctioned vessels. Its specific reference to sanctioned fleets concerns India-origin gasoline cargoes.
Morocco’s emergence as a supplier follows reports of an earlier shipment from Tangier. According to Le Nouvelliste report, around 30,000 tons of AI-92 gasoline were loaded at the Port of Tangier in mid-July and transported toward Russia’s Murmansk port, in what was reported as the first shipment of its kind from Morocco to Russia.
The development also fits into a broader trend in which Morocco has seen increased energy-related trade with Russia in recent years, alongside countries such as India that have significantly expanded their energy dealings with Moscow despite Western sanctions imposed following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
For Morocco, the latest figures underline the kingdom’s growing presence in international energy trading flows. For Russia, they highlight the extent to which attacks on its refining infrastructure and restrictions on fuel exports are forcing the country to increasingly rely on external suppliers to meet domestic gasoline demand.
The sharp rise in Moroccan-linked flows from around 10,000 barrels per day in July to roughly 30,000 barrels per day in August therefore stands out against a wider reshaping of global fuel routes, as Russia adapts its energy trade to a combination of Western sanctions, battlefield disruptions and pressure on its domestic refining system.
