Putin Was Told That It Would Be Impossible To Quickly Increase Gasoline Production
- 23.06.2026, 20:25
The volume of fuel from Belarus is insufficient.
Russian oil refineries are currently operating at full capacity, and yet the situation on the fuel market is “complicated,” Alexander Novak, the Russian Deputy Prime Minister in charge of energy, reported to Vladimir Putin.
To address the fuel shortages that have affected dozens of regions, according to Novak, the authorities have tapped into reserves that had never been used before.
“We have maximized capacity utilization at all oil refineries, shortened maintenance periods, and postponed scheduled maintenance to later dates,” the deputy prime minister explained. According to Novak, both small and medium-sized oil refineries are operating at maximum capacity; exports of gasoline and jet fuel are completely banned, and a ban on diesel fuel exports is under consideration.
Despite all the measures taken, according to Reuters, gasoline production currently covers only about 80% of domestic consumption. Following attacks on oil refineries in June—which targeted facilities in Moscow, Nizhnekamsk, Tyumen, and Volgograd, as well as 16 other refineries in May—gasoline output plummeted by 25% to 85,000 metric tons. Meanwhile, during the summer months, the economy consumes 110,000 metric tons of automotive gasoline per day.
According to Novak, in order to increase supplies to the domestic market, the government has prepared and will adopt “amendments to tax legislation” in the coming days. These measures will allow for large-scale purchases of gasoline from abroad, sources familiar with the situation told *Vedomosti*. According to them, the authorities plan to apply a price-stabilization mechanism to imported gasoline—that is, to pay subsidies to oil companies from the budget to keep retail prices for imported fuel in check.
Russia is already purchasing gasoline from Belarus, but the volumes being supplied are insufficient to close the “gap” in the fuel balance: according to Reuters sources, this amounts to 100,000–150,000 metric tons per month—or roughly 3,000–5,000 metric tons per day—while the gasoline shortage reaches 25,000 metric tons daily.
Due to the fuel shortage, six regions officially imposed limits on gasoline sales on Monday: Omsk, Irkutsk, Saratov, Voronezh, and Tambov regions, as well as the Amur Region. On Tuesday, authorities in the Belgorod, Tyumen, Vologda, Penza, and Novosibirsk regions announced similar measures. Even the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug—Russia’s main oil-producing region, which accounts for 40% of the country’s oil production—announced limits at gas stations.
There are still many unknowns regarding the fuel situation: for example, how quickly Russia will be able to repair its refineries and how much firefighting and repair capacity remains at the facilities that have been repeatedly attacked, notes a senior research fellow at the Carnegie Berlin Center for Russia and Eurasia. Sergey Vakulenko: “For example, the Ryazan refinery has been attacked 15 times.”
The latest strikes have caused extensive damage not only to relatively easy-to-repair primary refining units but also to more complex isomerization, cracking, and hydrotreating units, Vakulenko emphasizes: “Restoring them often requires imported spare parts, which further extends repair times. And even if the same refining volume is maintained, the output of motor fuels meeting modern standards may be lower.”