Russia has extended a temporary ban on gasoline exports through the end of February as the government seeks to keep its domestic fuel market stable, according to a Russian government decree published on Saturday.
The move follows refinery disruptions caused by Ukrainian drone strikes that have constrained gasoline supply in several Russian regions.
Under the decision, shipments of gasoline abroad will remain restricted through Feb. 28 and will apply to all exporters, including producers, the decree says.
The Russian government also prolonged restrictions on the export of diesel, marine fuel and other gasoils for non-producers until the same date, the statement added.
Previously, the ban on gasoline exports from Russia applied to all market participants until the end of the current year.
Moscow first imposed the measures in late August after Ukraine intensified drone strikes on oil refineries and port infrastructure stretching from the Black Sea to the Baltic coast.
The attacks disrupted fuel production and logistics, aggravating an already tight domestic market and triggering price spikes and temporary shortages in several regions.
Fuel shortages first emerged in August in Russia’s Far East and in occupied Crimea before spreading to southern, central and Volga regions, Kyiv Post previously reported.
Independent gas stations, which account for about 40% of Russia’s fuel retail market, suffered a supply decrease hit, with some forced to suspend operations as fuel ran out. Gas retailers in Chelyabinsk, Tyumen, Sverdlovsk regions and authorities in occupied Crimea imposed sales limits, with caps of 20 to 30 liters per vehicle.
Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Thursday that Russia’s petroleum products market is currently balanced, Russian Interfax reported. Novak claimed that during the period of heightened demand in August-September this year, the market was regulated “manually.”
“We steadily went through a period of heightened demand. Additional production volumes were ensured at enterprises that had spare capacity. We limited gasoline exports and diesel fuel exports in order, first of all, to supply the domestic market,” Interfax quoted Novak as saying.
“We created conditions so that, in particular, for example, along the Belarusian direction, additional imports of petroleum products from oil that we supply for processing to the Republic of Belarus were possible. We used remaining stocks,” he added.
He also described the current situation on the fuel market as “absolutely calm.”
Meanwhile, Ukrainian drones targeted Russian positions from 2023 and attacks on oil refineries and infrastructure intensified from March 2024, scaling up every consecutive month.