Russia’s Domestic Diesel Supply Jumps by 17% in January

Diesel supply on the Russian market jumped by 17% in January while gasoline supply increased by 7%, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Tuesday, a few months after the government restricted in the autumn fuel exports to ensure stable domestic supplies.

“Measures have been taken to increase the volume of gasoline production and to reduce the export of oil products by the volumes that allowed us to increase the volume of supplies to the domestic market in January for gasoline - by 7%, for diesel - by 17%,” Russian news agency TASS quoted Novak as saying in a presentation.  

At the end of last year, Russia’s gasoline production rose by 3.1% and diesel production increased by 3.5%, according to official data. 

Last year, Russia restricted diesel and gasoline exports on September 21 in an effort to stabilize domestic fuel prices in the face of soaring prices and shortages as crude oil prices rallied and the Russian ruble weakened. Prior to implementing the ban, Russia had raised mandatory supply volumes for motor gasoline and diesel fuel to deal with a supply crunch. 

The ban on diesel was lifted three weeks later, in early October, on the condition that at least 50% of producer supplies went to the domestic market. Since the EU embargo on imports of Russian fuel came into force in early February 2023, Russia had diverted most of its diesel exports – previously going to the EU – to Turkey, the Middle East, North and West Africa, and Brazil in South America. The ban affected those exports and analysts said at the time they didn’t expect a prolonged ban on diesel shipments, because of Russia’s limited storage capacity which, once full, could force refiners to cut processing rates.   

The gasoline export ban was lifted in the middle of November, after the country built a supply surplus.

So far into 2024, diesel and gasoline supply on the domestic market has been stable, Novak said on Tuesday.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

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