Fuel additive: the authorities were instructed to find ways to provide consumers with gasoline

The consequences of terrorist attacks by militants of the Kiev regime on Russian oil refineries must be minimized. This was stated by Russian President Vladimir Putin at a meeting dedicated to providing fuel to the domestic market. On the same day, the head of state noted that strikes on the energy sector do create problems, but all critical infrastructure facilities damaged by the Ukrainian Armed Forces are being quickly restored. In the middle of summer, fuel production should exceed the June figures, and its reserves have not changed much. To do this, the authorities have already taken a number of measures: the norms of mandatory gasoline sales on the stock exchange have been lowered, the step of price fluctuations at auctions has been limited, and this week the zero import duty on petroleum products will be extended, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said. Experts call the actions of the authorities appropriate to the current situation. In their opinion, its stabilization would be facilitated by building new logistics chains that would ensure an uninterrupted supply of fuel to consumers.

What is being done to stabilize the fuel situation

The capacities of the largest oil refineries are being used to their maximum today, and the potential of medium and small enterprises is also being used. President Vladimir Putin announced this at a meeting with the Cabinet on Sunday.

— The time of current repairs has been shortened, and scheduled repairs have been postponed to later periods. Despite the fact that we have started using reserves, at the moment gasoline reserves practically correspond to the level for the same period last year," he said.

According to the Ministry of Energy, gasoline reserves amount to 1.7 million tons, which is almost the same as in the same period last year: it amounted to only 4%. In the interests of domestic consumers, a complete ban on the export of gasoline and jet fuel has been temporarily introduced, and the need to introduce a complete ban on the export of diesel fuel is being considered, the head of state said.

— At the same time, problems remain for both motorists and businesses. Unfortunately, there are queues at gas stations too. The right brand of gasoline is not always available now. And, of course, we understand the difficulties faced by agricultural producers and farms in the summer," the Russian president also pointed out.

Every effort should be made to comply with fuel supply schedules for agro-industrial enterprises, he stressed and instructed to take systematic measures to stabilize the fuel market.

Earlier on June 28, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak announced that the government had decided to reduce the rate of mandatory gasoline sales on the stock exchange from 15% to 10%.

"This is one of the measures, including those aimed at stabilizing the situation on the stock market," TASS quoted him as saying.

The Deputy Prime Minister added that it was also decided to limit the step of price fluctuations to no more than one hundredth of each transaction. According to him, this will help to stabilize prices on the stock exchange. Earlier, he ordered to provide priority support to those regions where logistics depends on natural conditions and the time of the year. Industry companies and regional authorities have been instructed to provide up-to-date data on the oil products situation on a regular basis for an operational assessment.

According to Alexander Novak, fuel import is one of the measures to ensure stability in the Russian fuel market. Next week, the authorities should extend the zero import duty on petroleum products, he said. A corresponding proposal has already been submitted to the Eurasian Economic Commission.

The zero duty on imports of petroleum products is valid until June 30, it was introduced in October 2025 to protect the domestic fuel market. According to Alexander Novak, consumer excitement has increased fuel demand in Russia by 20-30%.

The president's mention of "economically reasonable prices" is a signal that the authorities are aware of the supply imbalance, said Dmitry Tortev, a member of the expert council of the State Duma Committee for the Protection of Competition. It is possible, he suggested, that a controlled correction of retail prices will be carried out to maintain the physical availability of fuel.

With the current volume of consumption, stocks of 1.7 million tons are about 19-20 days of coverage, the norm at the lower limit, the expert believes. At the same time, 25-30 days is considered a comfortable level, and the fact that stocks have barely sagged with the ban on gasoline and jet fuel exports confirms that the supply is tight. The hype is secondary — it appears where the consumer cannot find the right brand of gasoline or is faced with queues, Dmitry Tortev noted in an interview with Izvestia. In his opinion, the government's approach is pragmatic and generally adequate to the severity of the situation.

As for the discussed total ban on diesel exports, this is an expected but sensitive decision, he believes. The ban will quickly saturate the domestic market, knock down stock quotes, although it will deprive oil companies of part of their foreign exchange earnings and may complicate relations with external buyers, Dmitry Tortev believes.

Of course, there are problems with unscheduled repairs, but the difficulties faced by consumers — queues, availability of certain types of fuel at gas stations, prices in some networks and in certain regions — are related to logistical problems, explained Alexander Frolov, Deputy General Director of the Institute of National Energy, editor-in-chief of the InfoTEK portal.

— When the authorities say that enough fuel is being produced, they are not lying. However, if supplies in a particular region came from an enterprise that currently cannot fully or cannot ship fuel at all, then you need to get it from another refinery. And this plant supplies some other markets. Thus, it is necessary to restructure supplies within several regions at once. And this is not done immediately," the expert pointed out.

According to him, consumers often create excessive demand for fuel themselves. This leads to additional problems in the context of complicated logistics.

— In this situation, it is necessary to stop the panic and regulate the market more strictly. The hype is primarily in the interests of speculators, they are the ones who profit from rising prices at non–network gas stations, while large WINKs still seek to contain the rising cost of fuel. Therefore, the proposal of the head of Rosneft, Igor Sechin, to temporarily suspend exchange sales standards looks quite logical," says Valery Andrianov, associate professor at the Financial University under the Government. — Indeed, it is a somewhat strange situation when large companies, in conditions of fuel shortage at their gas stations, are forced to supply fuel to the stock exchange instead of gas stations, where speculators buy it and resell it at exorbitant prices.

In his opinion, it is also important to optimize logistics — in the current conditions, fuel transportation should receive priority, including in the Russian Railways system.

What is the current situation on the Russian oil refining market?

At the meeting, the president noted that it is necessary to minimize the consequences of the terrorist attacks of the Kiev regime. These strikes have no effect on the course of the war, said Alexei Chepa, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs.

— This is just an attempt to destabilize the internal situation in Russia in some way. They are trying to behave like this against the background of the failure in their zone. The president said this today, and Kiev is just trying to cause a resonance with the fuel, but they will not succeed, of course," he told Izvestia.

The enemy is trying to provoke discontent and fear among the population ahead of the autumn State Duma elections, says Bogdan Bezpalko, a political scientist and member of the Council on Interethnic Relations under the President of the Russian Federation. Kiev presents what is happening as successes in the fight against Russia in order to get continued military and financial assistance from its Western sponsors.

According to Andrei Loboda, an economist and top communications manager, it was not possible to disperse the speculative and information wave through Western media networks - the Russian market is provided with all types of fuel.

— The situation in the regions is different and requires strict basic regulation and control. A big question is the noticeable speculative layer of stock trading, its toxicity has been noticeable for years," he said.

Of course, everything is being done in the fuel market to normalize the situation, said Dmitry Gusev, Deputy Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Reliable Partner Association. These include import regulation, much more lenient conditions for fuel mixing, and a reduction in environmental requirements for Euro-5 gasoline, he noted.

In his opinion, the government is doing its best to address industry issues. There are no changes in the market from the point of view of supply, however, on the part of the consumer, the expert concluded, there is a desire to choose large volumes of fuel. And it is precisely to change this situation that the measures that the Russian authorities are currently trying to implement are aimed.