Russia is preparing to import diesel fuel for the first time due to a shortage
For the first time in history, Russia plans to begin importing diesel fuel due to a sharp decline in domestic production and a shortage in the domestic market.
According to The Moscow Times, the Russian government has already drafted legislative changes that will allow for the purchase of diesel abroad. To this end, it plans to introduce an import buffer mechanism that provides budgetary compensation to oil companies for the difference between global and domestic prices.
As the publication notes, Russia has previously been forced to import gasoline from Belarus, Kazakhstan, and India.
The shortage is attributed to a decline in production following strikes on Russian oil refineries. According to media reports, diesel production has fallen by nearly 40%, and oil refining has dropped to its lowest level in the past two decades.
Russian farmers are already feeling the fuel shortage, especially in the south of the country, where gas stations have imposed restrictions on diesel sales. At the same time, fuel prices have reached their highest level in the last 15 years.
India could become a potential supplier of diesel fuel to Russia. According to analysts’ estimates, the monthly shortage of petroleum products in Russia ranges from 400,000 to 600,000 metric tons.
Source: The Moscow Times.
The Russian Red Cross has begun building up additional stockpiles of humanitarian aid for the temporarily occupied Crimea and Sevastopol following the declaration of a state of emergency on the peninsula.
On the temporarily occupied Crimean Peninsula, local residents report prolonged power outages, fuel shortages, rising prices, and problems with social infrastructure. According to them, the situation is particularly dire in the northern regions of the peninsula.
As a reminder, Ukraine has claimed to have struck 19 Russian tankers carrying fuel for Crimea.
