One in every fifty gas stations in Russia has stopped selling gasoline. Over the past two months, the number of gas stations has decreased by 360 sites, or 2.6%. Independent stations were hit the hardest—their numbers fell by 4.1%—while gas stations owned by vertically integrated oil companies saw only a 0.8% decline.
Some networks that continue to operate amid local fuel shortages have had to limit gasoline sales to 10–20 liters per visitor or temporarily sell only diesel.
The greatest difficulties are in the Southern Federal District, where more than 220 stations, or 14.2% of the total in the region, have stopped selling fuel. In Rostov region, Mari El, and the Jewish Autonomous Region, station numbers fell by 12–14%.
The fuel crisis has also reached Moscow, Moscow region, and Leningrad region. In Moscow, Lukoil has banned gasoline sales in containers at certain stations. Business representatives in Moscow and Leningrad regions also reported restrictions at gas stations.
The situation is most acute in temporarily occupied Crimea and Sevastopol, where about half of the gas stations have stopped selling gasoline. The head of the occupation administration of the peninsula, Sergey Aksyonov, urged residents to “be patient” and attributed the shortage to “objective reasons,” citing reduced production at Russian refineries.
Fuel shortages in Russia are expected to deepen, as most refineries and oil depots are concentrated in the western part of the country.
