In Russia, the second wave of the fuel crisis began in early August against the backdrop of intensified Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil refineries. People are again complaining about queues at gas stations and rising prices, as well as about the quality of gasoline.
According to calculations by the BBC Russian Service, complaints about fuel problems came from at least 25 regions of Russia. Moscow also faced a shortage. And in annexed Crimea, the first wave of the crisis did not end - there the crisis has not stopped for several months.
“On Saturday evening we were returning home from Moscow to Korolev with a friend. We saw queues at Teboil gas stations. We were surprised. And the driver said that there was a fuel shortage again. Prices have remained elevated since the first crisis,” says Maria*.
On the evening of August 18, she walked through the Teboil and Gazpromneft gas stations in Korolev - there was no gasoline. Complaints about new queues and fuel shortages in Moscow began appearing on social networks in mid-August.
The RBC publication reported that due to increasing demand for gasoline, a number of gas station networks have temporarily limited the sale of fuel. Gazpromneft has a limit of 40 liters in a car tank, Tatneft has a limit of 50 liters of gasoline and 60 liters of diesel.
Ivan* from Dubna near Moscow noticed that it has become more difficult to find 95-grade gasoline. “If about three weeks ago I refueled without problems, without queues, at a network gas station of Gazpromneft at a price of about 69 rubles per liter, then last Friday, August 14, I stood in line at 6:30 in the morning at Rosneft, the only network gas station in the district where the 95th was,” he says. But the man was unable to refuel at this gas station—gasoline sales were restricted there. As a result, Ivan refueled at a non-chain gas station, paying 106 rubles per liter.
Correspondent of the telegram channel “Real Khimki” Dmitry Zubarev told the BBC that he has been observing problems with gasoline for a week: “The situation with gasoline is deplorable. Mostly in the morning."
According to him, it is almost impossible to refuel at Lukoil, Gazprom and Tatneft. Gasoline does not appear for long, and you can spend an hour and a half in line. At gas stations with contactless payment, Zubarev says, sometimes payment is made only through the application. At some gas stations, he said, you can only pay with a fuel card.
Political scientist Mikhail Vinogradov told how on August 20, early in the morning, he drove through the center of Moscow within the Third Transport Ring. According to his observations, half of the gas stations there were closed. The queue is at least an hour.
The shortage affected not only Moscow and the Moscow region. According to Tula resident Alexander*, this wave of crisis is worse than the first. “The queues are extremely long. Now we are no longer talking about some 30-50 cars. There are quite huge queues that create traffic jams and congestion on the roads that hinder the entire city, especially during rush hour,” lists Alexander*.
According to him, a liter of 95 gasoline costs 110 rubles. Average prices for these stamps in the Tula region, according to the latest data from Rosstat as of August 17, were approximately 77 and 89 rubles, respectively.
Alexander and his wife noticed the second wave of the crisis around August 9. Anna* also spoke about problems with fuel in Tula: “Everything is bad with gasoline. Out of dozens of gas stations, literally three have it.” Anna doesn’t complain about the prices, but she has to wait in lines.
Around July, problems arose with gasoline in Lipetsk. “Our situation is sad: gasoline is rarely delivered, the queues are long,” a local resident shares with the BBC.
Since the beginning of August, fuel problems have been officially recognized by the authorities of more than ten Russian regions. The BBC Russian service found reports from August of fuel shortages and long queues in at least 25 regions of Russia.
In annexed Crimea, problems with fuel and electricity due to the Ukrainian blockade, which appeared at the beginning of the summer, have not stopped since then. “We haven’t had gasoline since June, and if we do get it, it’s not enough. The other day the 95th ended before us. As usual, we stood there for about five hours in the morning,” says Irina* from Yalta.
Last year, Russia also experienced a gasoline shortage and an increase in its prices - then Ukraine also attacked the Russian oil infrastructure. But this year the crisis turned out to be deeper, and the rise in gasoline prices, according to BBC calculations, was noticeably stronger.
The main reason for the new aggravation of the crisis this year is attacks on Russian refineries, the number and depth of which has only been growing since the beginning of the year. In the first three weeks of August alone, at least ten large factories were attacked in Bashkiria, Tatarstan, Samara, Yaroslavl and Orenburg regions.
Bloomberg reported in mid-July that a wave of Ukrainian strikes had brought down Russian oil refining to a 21-year low. Sergei Vakulenko estimates the decline in processing since the beginning of the attacks as 25-28%.
Russian Energy Minister Sergei Tsivilev admitted that queues are forming at gas stations in Russia. According to him, the government is “actively working to solve this problem.”
The actions of the authorities come down to several main areas: they are trying to strictly monitor prices, limit the sale of gasoline abroad and increase imports. On July 30, the government extended the total ban on fuel exports until the end of January 2027.
Issues also arise with the import of gasoline. This summer, Belarus became a major supplier of fuel to the Russian market. But now one of the country’s two oil refineries is undergoing scheduled summer repairs. This may reduce supplies.
At the end of July, the first shipment of gasoline from Morocco arrived in the Murmansk region, and a few days later - from India. At least two more such cargoes, according to Reuters, will arrive from India to Russian ports over the next two weeks.
The specialized Russian publication InfoTEK reported that gasoline imported to Russia from Asia has not yet entered the market because oil companies and regulators cannot agree on a price. The offered price with delivery from India was almost twice as high as the price on the Russian exchange.
Anna from Tula notes: “The gasoline itself is of poor quality. Owners of foreign cars complain that their cars are starting to break down. My husband works in an auto parts store and says that service technicians come and say that Chinese cars after 95 gasoline are starting to have their engine cylinder heads repaired.”
