In March, for the first time after two years of conflict, the largest Russian refineries producing high-quality fuel for the domestic market were hit. The consequences in terms of the timing of the renewal of capacity and supply of most oil products are not catastrophic, but the situation with AI-95 gasoline may become problematic. writes about this “Kommersant”.
Total production loss due to attacks will be 5-6%. This is an insignificant volume for diesel fuel, a significant part of which is exported by the Russian Federation. But it was AI-95 that was in short supply last summer due to the growth of domestic tourism and supplies to new regions.
The missing volumes need to be found in the next 3-4 months of repairs. One option is to import from Belarus, which exports about 3 million tons of gasoline annually through Russian infrastructure. Typically Belarusian gasoline is not sold in the Russian Federation due to low prices.
However, Russia can achieve this reduction by claiming that Belarusian refineries work with Russian oil and there is no other export point. The second solution is to increase the shock absorber; this is a subsidy given to refineries during the summer months to maximize the use of surviving facilities and limit the rise in wholesale gasoline prices. A slight increase in these would allow some consumers to switch to liquefied gas.
Before that in the Kremlin redirected The issue of compensation for refineries exposed to drone attacks.
Previous analysts appreciated The extent of the problems in Russian oil production.