Russia increased gasoline imports from neighboring Belarus in March in response to the risk of domestic supply shortages due to unscheduled repairs at Russian refineries following Ukrainian drone attacks, several oil industry sources told Reuters.

Gas station in RussiaPhoto: Kommersant photo agency / ddp USA / Profimedia

Russia is normally a net exporter of fuel and a supplier to international markets, but the shutdown of oil refineries has forced Russian oil companies to resort to imports. Moscow authorities have already banned the export of gasoline from March 1 in order to ensure the supply of the domestic market after repeated attacks by Ukrainians since the beginning of the year, reminds Agerpres.

Russia usually imports very little fuel from Belarus, but that changed last August-October when it faced a fuel shortage that sent gasoline prices soaring and prompted a new oil embargo. export.

Sources cited by Reuters claim that Russia has again increased its imports of gasoline from Belarus this year, reaching 3,000 tons in the first half of March. For comparison, Russia imported 590 tons of gasoline from Belarus in February, and there were no deliveries from Belarus in January.

Belarus has two oil refineries, Naftan and Mozyrskyi. Each of these refineries has a processing capacity of 12 million tonnes per year (approximately 240,000 barrels per day), but typically operates at a lower capacity of approximately nine million tonnes per year (180,000 barrels per day).

Belarusian refineries mainly use Russian crude oil as feedstock, while Russian oil companies, which also have subsidiaries in Belarus, buy gasoline from Naftan and the Mozyr refinery to supply their Belarusian gas stations.

Sources cited by Reuters, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the governments and oil companies of the two countries are currently in discussions about new gasoline imports. One of the sources said that the discussions are complicated by the fact that Belarus prioritizes fuel exports to international markets. On the other hand, how much gasoline Russia needs depends on how long the repair works at the refinery will last.