Europe sanctions Moscow, but its gasoline reaches Russia via Morocco

Russia, despite being a major oil producer, is now importing fuel to compensate for the damage caused by Ukrainian strikes on its refineries. In July and August 2026, its imports reportedly reached 3.85 million barrels, including 3.1 million barrels of gasoline and components intended for its production.

Part of these volumes reportedly passed through Morocco. According to an analysis published on September 4 by Windward, a major storage terminal at Tanger Med receives European and British gasoline, blends it, and then re-exports it to Russian ports.

On Bladi.net : article 122861

Between January and August, nine tankers reportedly delivered approximately one million barrels to this terminal, loaded in Spain, the Netherlands, Cyprus, Italy and the United Kingdom. The facility has 19 tanks and can store up to 3.35 million barrels.

Between June and July, three other vessels transported approximately one million barrels from Tanger Med to Russian ports in the Arctic and Baltic regions. Around 500,000 additional barrels are reportedly currently en route to Russia.

An unprecedented circuit since at least 2016

Windward relies on its maritime data and that of the specialized company Vortexa. According to the latter, these are the first gasoline shipments between Morocco and Russia recorded since it began collecting data in 2016.

The last shipment of gasoline sent from this terminal to a destination other than Russia dates back to May 2026, when approximately 260,000 barrels were sent to Spain. No other country reportedly received finished gasoline from the facility afterward.

The volumes shipped to Russia even exceed the European and British arrivals identified since the beginning of the year. Windward estimates that this discrepancy is consistent with the use of old stocks and blending operations that make it more difficult to identify the fuel’s exact origin.

On Bladi.net : article 123152

The Moroccan terminal had reportedly previously been used for the reverse circuit. Between 2023 and 2025, Russian diesel was allegedly delivered there and then re-exported to European Mediterranean ports as a “Moroccan” product. The infrastructure that transported Russian fuel to Europe would now be used to send European fuel to Russia.