After a series of Ukrainian attacks on oil refineries and export terminals, Russia faced a gasoline shortage. According to traders and retailers, reduced oil refining and high interest rates make it difficult for private gas stations to accumulate fuel reserves, leading to supply disruptions and overall exports. This was reported by Reuters, writes UNN.
Details
The Russian fuel market came under pressure after a wave of Ukrainian drone attacks targeting oil refineries and export infrastructure.
According to Reuters, citing five traders and market operators, oil refining has decreased, and independent gas stations, which account for about 40% of the total volume, have faced a gasoline shortage due to rising interest rates and limited opportunities to form reserves.
Despite the fact that there is still a surplus of diesel fuel in the country, gasoline production is almost entirely focused on domestic demand. Therefore, disruptions at refineries quickly led to shortages, particularly of Ai-92 and Ai-95 grades.
Consumers in the Far East and occupied Crimea were the first to experience problems, where supply disruptions occurred back in August. A similar situation is currently observed in the Volga region, in the south and in the central regions of Russia. In the Nizhny Novgorod region, Governor Gleb Nikitin acknowledged "temporary" disruptions, explaining them by logistics problems.
Sources note that the networks of large oil companies operate more stably, while small gas stations are forced to temporarily close.
The manager decided to close the station because there was no gasoline. The situation is the same in the neighboring village, and elsewhere the fuel simply ran out
Experts believe that the new wave of the fuel crisis has become one of the most tangible consequences of Ukrainian strikes on Russia's energy infrastructure.
Recall
On September 18, Russia reported a drone attack on the Gazprom Neftekhim Salavat plant in Bashkortostan, as reported by the head of the Russian region, Radiy Khabirov.
The fuel shortage spread to at least 20 regions of Russia, including the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. At the same time, a sharp increase in oil product prices is recorded throughout the country.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine confirmed the strike on strategic facilities in Russia: key oil refineries were destroyed – the Saratov Refinery in the Saratov region, the Novokuibyshev Refinery and the LVDS "Samara" in the Samara region.
On September 20, long-range drones of the SSO "A" SBU and SSO AFU hit a number of oil pumping stations of the "Kuibyshev – Tikhoretsk" oil pipeline, which are involved in oil exports through the port of Novorossiysk.