Russia seeks Kazakh fuel buffer amid looming shortages
As Reuters reports, citing three industry sources, Moscow has approached the authorities of Kazakhstan to request a fuel reserve to mitigate potential shortages in Russia. According to one of the agency's sources, the request is approximately 110,231 tonnes.
The Russian authorities have sought help from Kazakhstan due to the threat of gasoline shortages. This situation arises from the impacts of Ukrainian drone strikes on refineries, which have significantly disrupted crude oil production. Moreover, the country is currently grappling with flooding issues.
As Reuters reports, citing three industry sources, Moscow has approached the authorities of Kazakhstan to request that they establish a gasoline reserve to mitigate potential shortages in Russia.
According to one of the agency's sources, the request is about 110,231 tonnes. "We've signed an agreement, and everything has been formalised within the framework of a provisional balance," the source told Reuters.
Some of Reuters' sources are sceptical about Kazakhstan's capability to fulfil the Kremlin's request: the country's gasoline reserves amount to just about 338,633 tonnes of Pb-92 and 64,736 tonnes of Pb-95.
The Kremlin had previously approached Belarus at the end of March for similar assistance. According to Pavel Zavalny, the head of the State Duma Energy Committee, "an agreement was reached for purchases ranging from 110,231 to 165,346 tonnes per month".
Reuters sources suggest that the current state of Russian refineries indicates looming fuel shortages. One of the sources disclosed to Reuters suggested that by May, Russia might face significant gasoline shortages in the domestic market.
According to Rosstat, in the first three weeks of March, Russia experienced a 10.1 percent drop in gasoline production and almost a 4 percent decrease in diesel oil production due to a series of drone attacks that halted operations in three refineries.
Flooding in the Far East led to the suspension of operations at two refineries. Authorities are concerned that continuing operations could lead to a disaster.
