The Russian government has developed a package of measures to increase gasoline imports from China and other Asian countries in order to eliminate the fuel shortage in the country. This was reported by Zamin.uz.
This decision was made following drone attacks on large oil refineries. Moscow also plans to purchase gasoline from South Korea and Singapore.
To reduce import duties, taxes on fuel brought through certain checkpoints in the Far East will be set to zero. This will ensure that importers are compensated by the state for the difference between global and domestic market prices.
The supply of gasoline will be carried out by Rosneft, the Independent Oil and Gas Company, and the State Foreign Economic Association "Industrial Raw Material Import." These companies will direct 150,000 tons of gasoline per month from refineries in Siberia to the central regions of the country.
Additionally, the government plans to increase gasoline imports from Belarus and lift the ban on the use of the octane-enhancing additive monomethylaniline (MMA) at oil refineries. MMA is highly toxic and carcinogenic, banned in many countries, and was used in Russia until 2016.
At the end of September, 38 percent of Russia's oil refineries, producing nearly 338,000 tons per day, ceased operations. The main cause of this situation was drone attacks from Ukraine, which damaged more than 20 large oil refineries.
As a result, serious problems arose in the fuel and energy sector. Fuel shortages were observed in regions ranging from Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands to Nizhny Novgorod Oblast and Crimea.
Restrictions on gasoline sales were introduced in these regions, prohibiting the sale of more than 30 liters of gasoline per person. The government aims to supply an additional 350,000 tons of gasoline and 100,000 tons of diesel fuel to the domestic market each month by increasing imports from Asia and Belarus and by easing environmental requirements imposed on oil refineries.
Nevertheless, the current restrictions on petroleum products and new import measures will affect not only the domestic market but also the global fuel trade.
