Russia purchased gasoline from Turkey for the first time due to a fuel shortage
For the first time in history, Russia has purchased gasoline from Turkey—a country it had been supplying with crude oil and fuel for many years. According to Kommersant, the first tanker carrying up to 50,000 metric tons of Turkish gasoline is expected to arrive at one of Russia’s Baltic ports by the end of August. The fuel is being transported by the tanker Wendrix, which is on the sanctions lists of the European Union, the United Kingdom, and Switzerland and was loaded at the Turkish port of Mersin.
This is already the fifth imported gasoline shipment to Russia since July, notes Kommersant. In early August, the first tanker carrying gasoline from India was unloaded in Murmansk. It was dispatched by the Vadinar refinery, which is half-owned by Rosneft. Russia has also purchased gasoline from Morocco, though its true origin remains unknown, as the country’s only oil refinery closed back in 2015.
In August, Russia plans to increase its purchases of imported fuel to 270,000 metric tons, Reuters sources previously reported. About one-third of this volume will come from India, which purchases Russian oil at a discount. The remaining shipments consist of petroleum products that were transshipped from one tanker to another off the coasts of South Korea and Malaysia.
According to Dmitry Prokofiev, director of external communications at NEFT Research, domestic gasoline production in Russia currently covers only 65–75% of consumption. Oil refining volumes in the country remain near their lowest levels in the past two decades and are about one-third below the seasonal norm—approximately 4 million barrels per day.
A new wave of fuel shortages has already swept through at least 14 regions of Russia, including Moscow, where hours-long lines are once again forming at gas stations. Major oil companies have imposed restrictions on fuel sales. Official restrictions on gasoline sales are in effect in the Lipetsk, Kaluga, Orenburg, Leningrad, and Samara regions, as well as in the Trans-Baikal Territory.
According to the “GdeBenz” service, as of August 16, more than 70% of Russian gas stations had no gasoline or diesel fuel. Over the past week, that percentage has risen by 13 percentage points.
Since early August, at least five Russian refineries have halted fuel production due to drone strikes. In September, Russian oil companies will not be able to make up for the shortage through domestic production: even under an optimistic scenario, fuel output will increase by only 10–15%, industry sources told Kommersant. At the same time, current import volumes will also be unable to fully compensate for the shortfall, according to Prokofiev of NEFT Research.
This is being reported by Russian propaganda media.
The fuel crisis in Russia has reached Moscow: there is already a gasoline shortage in 30 regions.
As a reminder, the Orsk Oil Refinery in the Orenburg region of Russia has completely halted operations following an attack by Ukrainian drones.
As a reminder, the Russian oil refinery “Orsknefteorgsintez” halted oil processing following a Ukrainian drone attack on August 11.
Video: An oil refinery caught fire in Orsk following the attack.
