As Ukraine hits refineries, Russia bans diesel & petrol export amid fuel shortage

Russia has imposed a partial ban on diesel exports and extended an existing gasoline export ban until the end of the year, the government said on Tuesday.

Russia is facing fuel shortages after a spate of Ukrainian attacks on its refineries.

The measures were expected, as Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak had given advance warning of them last week.

The government said in a statement that it “continues to work to maintain stability in the domestic fuel market.”

The gasoline export ban applies to all exporters.

The ban on diesel exports also includes marine fuel and other gas oils. It applies to resellers but not to direct producers of those fuels.

Experts do not expect the restrictions to have a significant impact on fuel flows onto the domestic market, however, noting that Russia already has a prohibitive export tariff for non-producers of diesel.

The measures reflect the success Ukraine has had in knocking out chunks of Russia’s refining capacity via drone attacks. Russia is the world’s third-biggest oil producer after the U.S. and Saudi Arabia.

Gasoline shortages have been reported in a number of Russian regions, including in the far east and in Nizhny Novgorod, east of Moscow.

Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014, introduced gasoline rationing on Monday, saying motorists would be restricted to 30 litres at a time. It also imposed a price freeze, in an apparent attempt to minimise public anger over the disruption.

(This is an agency story. Except for the headline, the story has not been edited by Firstpost staff.)