Russia to stop gasoline exports in May
Russia will suspend exports of gasoline in May in order to meet domestic demand, after almost a week of dire shortages in some regions.
Fuel shortages began over the weekend, when most filling stations not belonging to major oil companies ceased trading because of a lack of fuel in the Altai region in southern Siberia. The deficit later spread further across the country, even all the way to Murmansk Oblast, where filling stations started selling limited amounts of gasoline.
At Rosneft’s stations in Murmansk only special brand cardholders are allowed to buy gasoline, Steer.ru writes. Prices have also risen.
St.Petersburg has only gasoline left for 14 days, Vzglyad reports.
Deputy Energy Minister Sergei Kudryashov said on Thursday that all oil companies will suspend exports of gasoline in May in order to supply the domestic market, according to Vedomosti.
Analysts said oil companies had switched fuel flows abroad where prices are rising while in Russia the government keeps a tight lid on fuel prices ahead of parliamentary elections in December and the presidential poll in March. The Federal Antimonopoly Service says it suspects a cartel agreement between large oil firms, while the Prosecutor’s Office launched several cases against producers, RIA Novosti reports.
Kudryashov said Russia had exported 3 million tons of oil products in the first four months of 2011 compared with 3 million tons in the whole of 2010.
