Oil cos bearing high costs to protect refineries, but greater losses will be incurred if they stand idle - Novak
VLADIVOSTOK. Sept 2 (Interfax) - Russian oil companies are having to spend large sums of money to protect their oil refineries, but the losses would be greater if they were shut down, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak told journalists at the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF).
"These are high costs for oil refineries and energy facilities. But it is worth it, because if refineries are shut down and stand idle, enterprises will suffer greater losses, and companies are bearing additional costs now," Novak said.
He said that companies were working alongside the Defense Ministry and the National Guard to protect their facilities. "Over the last few months, this work has been stepped up in response to increased attacks on oil refineries," Novak said.
Regarding the methods used to protect Russian oil refineries, Novak said Russia's ow solutions were no worse than those used in the UAE, where steel mesh enclosures are being built around the facilities.
"Our design institutes, together with the oil refineries, are working very closely to protect the facilities. The level, in my opinion, is much higher because it assumes a more stringent threat model," he said.
He said that around 10% of oil refineries were currently in the repair stage, but that planned repairs for some other sites had previously been postponed in order to satisfy higher demand during the summer period.
A seasonal surge in fuel consumption coincided with a series of unscheduled maintenance work at refineries in Russia in the summer of 2026, with restrictions on sales at filling stations consequently being implemented in various regions.
The government and oil companies have been taking measures to stabilize the situation, with operating refineries being fully utilized, timeframes of routine maintenance having been shortened, scheduled maintenance having been postponed.
The government has amended the trading of petroleum products on the St. Petersburg International Mercantile Exchange (SPIMEX) and permitted production of additional volumes of lower-grade Euro 2, 3 and 4 fuel.
Russia began importing petroleum products in July. Furthermore, the complete ban on gasoline exports has been extended until January 31, 2027. The ban on diesel exports for diesel producers has been extended until September 1 and for non-diesel fuel producers until January 31, 2027. The ban on exports of aviation fuel also remains in effect until November 30.
Novak said at the end of July that the fuel market had stabilized to some extent after several refineries completed maintenance, but the situation remained challenging in some regions. In August, according to the Deputy Prime Minister, the market entered a "second stage of tension." Authorities hope that the situation will improve once refineries resume operations after maintenance.
