The Russian oil company Tatneft has introduced a temporary cap on the sale of petrol and diesel at all its petrol stations across Russia, a helpline operator told the Russian news agency Interfax.
In addition to the limit on fuel sales, a payment restriction has also been introduced – petrol stations are now accepting cash only.
Reports of restrictions on fuel sales at Tatneft petrol stations, particularly in Tatarstan, the Moscow Region and Moscow, as well as shortages of petrol and diesel in a number of regions in the Volga region, began to emerge on 13 June – following the Ukrainian strike on the TANECO oil refinery, which is part of the Tat Group.
The Tatarstan authorities stated that fuel producers had introduced restrictions ‘at certain’ petrol stations ‘to prevent artificial panic buying’.
Dmitry Demeshin, Governor of the Khabarovsk Krai, cited the same reasons for the restrictions on fuel sales in the Sovetsko-Gavansky and Vaninsky districts. According to him, the introduction of limits is linked to “seasonal and unscheduled maintenance work” at oil refineries, which undergo maintenance following the sowing season, and that this is “an annual practice”.
Demechin stated that large petrol station chains are not experiencing any supply issues, and that petrol will be delivered to petrol stations within two to three days. Reports of fuel shortages in these two districts emerged as early as last week.
At the end of May, petrol began to run out in the annexed Crimea, followed by the Belgorod and Kursk regions, as well as the Russian-occupied Luhansk region. Subsequently, fuel shortages arose at petrol stations in Moscow, the Moscow and Leningrad regions, the Krasnodar Krai and Buryatia. One of the causes of these problems was the strikes on oil refineries in the European part of Russia, which are regularly carried out by Ukrainian drones.