Russia will extend the ban on gasoline exports and introduce a ban on non-producers to export diesel by the end of the year, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Thursday.
“We will soon extend the ban on gasoline exports until the end of the year, and will also ban non-producers from exporting diesel fuel, also until the end of the year,” Russian news agency Interfax quoted Novak as telling reporters in Moscow.
“This will allow us to supply the domestic market with additional volumes of petroleum products,” Russia’s top oil official added.
Currently, Russia is seeing a slight shortage of petroleum products, which the authorities try to cover with reserves, as they have always done, Novak was quoted as saying.
The extension of the gasoline export ban and the introduction of a diesel export ban for trading companies is not surprising, as fuel shortages have emerged amid intensified Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian refineries and other energy infrastructure.
At the end of August, Russia extended the gasoline ban until September 30, 2025, for producers, and until October 31 for non-fuel-producing traders.
Now the government plans another extension of the ban – enacted in March 2025 – by the end of the year, and a ban on diesel exports for non-fuel-producing traders.
Meanwhile, shortages of some fuel grades have emerged in the country, traders and retailers tell Reuters, as Ukraine’s attacks are curbing refining capacity.
The drone hits on some of Russia’s biggest refineries slashed refining processing rates by one fifth on certain days. There isn’t a run on pump stations in the country, but some popular gasoline grades are not available everywhere, according to Reuters.
Russia has not commented on the extent of the damage done by Ukrainian drones, but various reports have said that at least 10 refineries have been targeted with drones by Ukraine, and some of them have sustained damages and had to temporarily halt crude intake.
By Michael Kern for Oilprice.com
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