Diesel shipments to Russian market rose almost 6% in 2024, gasoline shipments up 2% - ministry

MOSCOW. Dec 26 (Interfax) - Diesel fuel shipments to Russia's domestic market grew by almost 6% in 2024, while gasoline shipments rose 2%, the Energy Ministry told Interfax.

Commenting on how the temporary ban on gasoline exports affected the country's fuel market, a ministry spokesman said it "made it possible to additionally sate the domestic market with supply and prevent spikes in both retail and wholesale prices."

"Targeted use of restrictive measures makes it possible to manually find a balance between supplying the market and utilizing oil refining capacity. Amid the saturation of the market and need to maintain oil refinery capacity utilization in the winter season, a decision was made to lift the ban on gasoline exports for producers. However, for non-producers the ban remains in effect until the end of January 2025. This measure makes it possible to support oil refining without risks for domestic market supply," the spokesman said.

Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said earlier that the authorities expect to forego the use of tools such as oil product export restrictions in future. "I'm confident that we will use instruments such as banning or opening shipment for export less. This is, after all, quite a non-market instrument. Given sufficient gasoline production, we will use market instruments," he said.

Novak recalled that new gasoline production capacity will go into operation in Russia in the next few years and this will make it possible to balance the situation on the market. Until then, new restrictions could be imposed. "Everything depends on the market situation," he said.