Russia has extended its ban on gasoline exports and introduced new restrictions on diesel shipments until the end of 2025 in a bid to stabilize domestic fuel supplies, the government said Tuesday.
The new decree prolongs an existing ban on gasoline exports until Dec. 31, applying to all exporters, including producers. Another decree prohibits diesel, marine fuel and other gas oils from being sold abroad by resellers — companies that buy fuel in Russia and ship it overseas. Direct producers remain exempt.
The limits, which Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak had signaled last Thursday, come after weeks of fuel shortages triggered by Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian oil refineries.
The Kommersant business daily estimates the gasoline shortage on the Russian market has reached 20%, or about 400,000 tons per month.
Industry experts told Reuters the Russian government’s measures are unlikely to dramatically increase domestic supplies, since diesel exports are already constrained by high tariffs on non-producers.
Bloomberg noted that resellers account for just 1.5-2% of Russia’s diesel exports, while most shipments come directly from producers.
The news agency estimates refinery crude-processing rates have fallen by at least 7% since August.
Russia, the world’s third-largest oil producer behind the United States and Saudi Arabia, exported about 10-12% of its gasoline before the current bans.
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