Ukraine hits refineries
Russia apparently needs gasoline from Belarus
March 29, 2024, 8:20 a.m
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After the Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian refineries, Russia can no longer meet its own fuel needs. The country is usually an exporter. But currently the oil companies are forced to import.
According to insiders, Russia relies on gasoline imports from neighboring Belarus to counteract the risk of shortages on the domestic market. This is what the US think tank Institute for the Study of War (ISW) writes in its current analysis citing media reports. The reason for an increase in imports in March was unscheduled repairs in Russian refineries that arose after Ukrainian drone attacks, four insiders told the Reuters news agency.
Typically, Russia is a net exporter of fuel and a supplier to international markets. However, the interruption of the Russian refineries forced the oil companies to import. After repeated Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian refineries since the beginning of the year, Russia banned gasoline exports on March 1 in order to ensure enough fuel for the domestic market.
In the first half of March, gasoline imports from Belarus reached almost 3,000 tons, according to insiders. In February, Russia is said to have imported 590 tons, while there were no deliveries from Belarus in January.
The export ban would allow prices on the domestic market to be stabilized, said Alexander Nowak, the deputy head of government responsible for energy, at the end of February. Exports to the countries of the Russian-dominated economic union Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan as well as Mongolia and Uzbekistan are not affected by the ban.
The EU had already banned the import of oil products from Russia last year. But at the same time, countries like Turkey and Brazil bought significantly more diesel.