Gasoline and diesel were available at only 28.1% of Russian petrol stations by the end of last week, down from 41% a week earlier, as fuel shortages returned to parts of the country after Russia received its first Indian gasoline shipment earlier this month.
At least six regions imposed or tightened fuel-sale restrictions between August 10 and 15, with Kaluga and Lipetsk introducing odd-even rationing by licence plate. Long queues have re-emerged at stations in at least 18 regions since the start of August. To boost domestic supply, the St. Petersburg exchange began trading lower environmental-grade gasoline — Euro-2 through Euro-4 — from August 18, a move the Russian Energy Ministry said would remain in place until at least July 2027.
The squeeze is set to deepen in September, when major refineries including TAIF-NK in Tatarstan are scheduled for maintenance, while Belarus's Novopolotsk refinery — a key supplier — is also shutting for planned repairs.