Petrol vanishes in handful of Russian regions following historically high prices
Russian regions have reported empty petrol stations, and this concerns not just AI-95 and AI-92 petrol, which previously set a historical record for price growth, but also diesel.
Source: Izvestia, a Russian newspaper, citing representatives of the fuel business.
Details: Russia's Krasnodar Krai, Astrakhan, and Volgograd oblasts are facing fuel shortages. Fuel market participants also reported no petrol at petrol stations in the Novosibirsk, Ryazan and Samara oblasts, as well as in Kalmykia [Republic of Kalmykia; Federal subject of the Russian Federation - ed.].
"We are currently operating on low stocks, basically straight away after delivery, [and it] concerns all types of fuels. Some petrol stations in the oblast do not have AI-92, AI-95 and diesel," said Ekaterina Savkina, Managing Partner of the GP Vympel petrol station chain in Samara Oblast.
Furthermore, Russian-occupied Crimea is also running out of petrol.
"There was a shortage of AI-95 last month, and now some gas stations are out of AI-92 and diesel," said German Kolotov, CEO of Mosregiongaz, operating in the Russian-annexed Autonomous Republic of Crimea.
He believes the problem emerged due to delays in delivering goods by rail. The trains from Central Russia carrying oil products reportedly take several weeks longer than usual to arrive, causing a shortage.
Farmers also report a deficit, complaining about the lack of diesel fuel.
Vladimir Matyagin, President of the Gruzavtotrans Freight Transport Association, confirmed the unavailability of diesel at petrol stations in Russia's southern regions. He said that some petrol stations are purposefully telling customers that the fuel dispenser is broken.
Apart from delays by railways, excuses used to reassure the population, the reasons for the petrol shortage include the redirection of coal exports to the east and scheduled refinery repairs. Dmitriy Gusev, Deputy Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Reliable Partner Association (which unites energy producers and sellers), suggested this explanation.
Petrol exports are another possible cause of the deficit. Vladimir Chernov, an analyst at Freedom Finance Global, believes so.
"The fall in the value of the Russian rouble makes exports of oil products even more profitable than their sales to the domestic market, so oil companies are trying to increase export supplies, creating a deficit in the domestic market," Chernov said.
Background: This summer, the wholesale price of petrol in Russia has not only broken records numerous times, but last week reached a historic high.
Based on data from the St. Petersburg International Mercantile Exchange as of 21 August, the prices of the fuel per tonne were reported to be AI-92 – RUB 62,100 [roughly US$659], AI-95 - RUB 70,200 [roughly US$745], and diesel - RUB 66,600 [roughly US$707].
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