Siberia and Russia’s Far East have once again begun restricting gasoline sales: some filling stations are selling no more than 20 liters per customer. The limits come amid another rise in prices and continuing supply disruptions.
On October 20, the price of AI-92 gasoline on the St. Petersburg Exchange reached 74,336 rubles per ton, setting a record for the 15th time this year. According to the Moscow Fuel Association, average retail prices for gasoline and diesel have been rising by 20 to 40 kopecks per liter each week since mid-September. By October 20, AI-92 cost 60.91 rubles per liter, AI-95 was 67.16 rubles, and diesel stood at 72.55 rubles.
“Demand is now declining; consumption itself is declining,” Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said about the fuel market situation.
Despite those statements, market participants report shortages. A trader in Western Siberia told Novaya-Europe that private gas stations have run out of fuel because of the spike in exchange prices and refinery maintenance, while stations run by large vertically integrated companies are seeing long lines. He said that where gasoline is still available, it can cost 9 to 25 rubles per liter more.
Restrictions and supply disruptions have been reported in Irkutsk, Chita, Ulan-Ude, Kirensk, Bodaybo, Novosibirsk, and Tuva. In Irkutsk, the BRK station network said its AI-92 cap was caused by a temporary interruption in supplies from Gazprom and Rosneft. In Novosibirsk, the Prime network suspended AI-92 sales to ordinary customers in early October, keeping supplies only for contract clients tied to the city’s safety and essential services.
Officials say they are taking steps to stabilize the market. Energy Minister Sergei Tsivilev said the ban on automobile gasoline exports had been extended until the end of the year, that diesel exports for part of the market had been temporarily banned until the end of 2025, and that the import duty on gasoline had been reduced to zero until mid-2026. Experts, however, link the crisis to refinery capacity lost after attacks and maintenance, as well as to output only slightly exceeding domestic demand.