Russia has been forced to import gasoline and diesel from Belarus and India after Ukrainian drone attacks reduced domestic refinery throughput by more than 30 percent. The shortages have led to rationing at petrol stations in major cities including Moscow and St Petersburg, with police deployed to enforce limits on fuel purchases.
The sustained Ukrainian drone campaign against Russian oil refineries has slashed the country’s refining capacity by nearly a third, particularly affecting the European part of Russia where fuel supplies are now critically low. Long queues of drivers waiting for deliveries of petrol and diesel have become a common sight across the country.
At a recent meeting with government officials and Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, who oversees the fuel and energy sector, President Vladimir Putin acknowledged the difficulties. – The problems with fuel are temporary – said President Vladimir Putin, adding that authorities are negotiating imports at acceptable prices, as reported by Reuters.
Ukrainian drone strikes cripple Russian refineries
Two tankers carrying gasoline produced at Indian refineries from Russian crude oil are reportedly on their way to Russia, with about 80,000 tonnes of fuel expected to arrive at ports soon. Further deliveries are planned as quickly as possible. However, this volume is a drop in the ocean given that summer daily gasoline consumption reaches 110,000 tonnes.
Belarus has also become a key supplier. In the first half of June, Russia purchased 70,000 tonnes of petrol from the Naftan refineries in Novopolotsk and Mozyr, delivered by rail. The imports highlight the depth of the crisis in a country that is one of the world’s largest oil producers.
Crisis forces imports and rationing
The situation is so severe that state officials are urging citizens to use public transport in cities and to travel by train rather than by car during the summer holiday season. In some towns, police officers are stationed at petrol stations to prevent drivers from filling canisters, enforcing strict limits on how much fuel can be purchased at one time.
The Kremlin has long prided itself on energy self-sufficiency, but the unprecedented attacks on its refinery infrastructure have exposed a critical vulnerability. While Russia continues to export crude oil, the loss of domestic refining capacity has created an embarrassing and economically damaging shortfall that now forces Moscow to rely on imports from its neighbors and even from India, a country that refines Russian crude.
Źródło: WNP.PL, Fot. EPA/PAP
