Russia bans the export of diesel

On July 8, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said in a live televised government meeting that the country will ban diesel exports and start importing fuel from July, to solve the problem of domestic gasoline and diesel supply.

“Today, a ban on diesel exports was imposed. This could help increase supply to the domestic market,” he said, admitting Russians are concerned about shortages at gas stations.

Since the beginning of the month, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the country was considering banning diesel exports. They are currently the world’s third largest crude oil producer, as well as one of the world’s major diesel suppliers. The ban will be in effect until July 31.

Russia is facing a shortage of gasoline and oil, after months of repeated attacks by Ukraine with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) on energy infrastructure deep within Russian territory, including oil refineries and fuel depots. Ukrainian leaders call it “long-range sanctions”, deployed to increase pressure on Moscow to accept negotiations.

Initially, Russian officials believed that gasoline shortages were just local bottlenecks. However, on June 28, Mr. Putin for the first time admitted that many regions faced this situation and pledged to take measures to stabilize the market.

Russia’s gasoline output has decreased by about 25% because a series of oil refineries had to stop operating. The supply disruption caused many localities to begin applying measures to restrict fuel sales and gasoline prices in many areas also increased sharply.

Russia’s seaborne diesel exports in June decreased by nearly 40% compared to the previous month, to about 1.8 million tons. Data from shipping companies showed that last month, Brazil and Türkiye remained the main buyers of this product, accounting for at least 50% of exports. Morocco, Egypt and Senegal were also the countries that imported a lot of Russian diesel in June.