Russian oil group Rosneft is rationing petrol at filling stations across the country after Ukraine resumed strikes on refineries following a brief pause prompted by the Trump administration. The cap limits sales to 30 litres per car in cities and 50 litres on highways, introduced in response to Ukrainian long-range drone and missile strikes that restarted on October 30. Isaac Levi of the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air estimates that between 20 and 35 per cent of Russia's total refining capacity is currently offline.
A country that was one of the world's largest exporters of oil products is now importing petrol by sea, with cargoes from Türkiye, Morocco, Egypt and others, showing how stretched Russia's domestic fuel market has become. Since November 7, petrol sales at Rosneft gas stations have been restricted in at least four regions, including Zabaikalye, with local authorities also reporting rationing in four other regions. In Nizhny Novgorod, authorities restricted sales at all gas stations and banned selling petrol in canisters and to cars registered in other regions.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said Kyiv's strikes are a response to Moscow's campaign targeting Ukraine's energy sector, which has caused lengthy power blackouts. Ukrainian forces have struck at least eight Russian oil refineries, four belonging to Rosneft and one jointly owned with Gazprom Neft. The Ukrainian General Staff said it hit a plant producing solid-fuel charges for Topol-M and Iskander-M missiles in the Leningrad region.
The vast majority of passenger cars in Russia run on petrol, while diesel powers heavy machinery and exports. Russia typically produces only about 10-15 per cent more petrol than it consumes, meaning even a slight drop in refining capacity is immediately felt at the pump. In April, Moscow banned all petrol exports, followed by a complete ban on diesel exports in summer, partially lifted in October following a cont...
Source: Financial Times Companies · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing