After the numerous Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian oil refineries, a crisis appears to be breaking out in the largest country in the world. To prevent bottlenecks from arising, the Kremlin now apparently wants to relax environmental standards…
In concrete terms, the use of inferior gasoline must be allowed, three industry representatives familiar with the plans told Reuters on Wednesday. This could bring an additional ten percent or up to 350,000 tons of gasoline per month into the domestic market. That could be enough to meet rising seasonal demand.
According to Reuters calculations, Ukrainian drone strikes reduced Russia’s oil refining capacity by about 14 percent by the end of March. Ukraine wants to use this to damage the infrastructure for Russian air strikes.
Export ban imposed
To prevent a possible gasoline shortage, Russia has imposed an export ban on various fuels. However, this ban does not apply to the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union, which includes several former Soviet republics, including Kazakhstan. According to insiders, the government is considering lowering the limits on the content of some additives and ethanol. The sulfur content is expected to remain unchanged. Since 2016, only high-quality gasoline with at least the Euro 5 standard is allowed in Russia.
“The Ministry of Energy is considering lowering the bar as a substitute measure to lay the foundation for additional gasoline production,” one of the insiders said. The Energy Department did not respond to a request for comment.
Source: Krone
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