Russia lifts ban on oil exports

“Since the imposition of the export ban, wholesale prices of gasoline on the exchange have decreased significantly. Stocks of gasoline for automobiles have reached almost 2 million tons,” the press office of the Russian Ministry of Energy reported.

The Russian Ministry of Energy also noted that the ban could be re-imposed “if necessary”.

“Monitoring of production and price indicators will continue in order to take timely measures to supply fuel to the domestic market, including reinstating the ban on automotive gasoline exports if necessary,” the statement stressed.

On September 21, the Russian government temporarily banned the export of gasoline and diesel fuel due to a sharp increase in wholesale prices of these commodities. These measures do not affect supplies to the countries of the Eurasian Economic Union (in addition to Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan), the territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

The Russian Energy Ministry explained that the restrictions would prevent gasoline exports and saturate the domestic market. The Kremlin made it clear that the ban would remain in effect “as long as necessary to ensure the stability of the (domestic) market.”

On November 17, A-95 gasoline was trading at around 51,700 rubles per ton and diesel at around 56,300 rubles per ton. Wholesale gasoline prices in Russia are set to rise sharply in the spring of 2023 after Finance Minister Anton Siluanov announced plans to halve the amount of compensation oil companies pay for curbing gasoline prices on the domestic market.

In early September, the price of A-95 gasoline on the St. Petersburg International Commodity and Raw Materials Exchange (SPbMTSE) set a multi-day record and for the first time reached 75,000 rubles per ton. The price of diesel oil traded on September 19 reached a record 75,036 rubles per ton.