Kazakhstan Steps In With Emergency Fuel Supply as Russia Battles Gasoline Shortages

Moscow-Kazakhstan has agreed to supply 50,000 metric tons of gasoline to Russia during July and August as humanitarian aid, according to four industry sources, as Moscow grapples with fuel shortages triggered by repeated Ukrainian attacks on its energy infrastructure.

The shipments are intended to ease disruptions that have led to long queues at filling stations and sharp increases in gasoline and diesel prices across several Russian regions during the peak summer demand period.

Industry sources said gasoline imports would include AI-95 and AI-92 grades produced at Kazakhstan’s Pavlodar and Kondensat refineries. They added that Russia has also begun importing gasoline from India to supplement domestic supplies.

Russia consumes at least 110,000 metric tons of gasoline per day during the summer, when seasonal demand reaches its annual peak.

President Vladimir Putin has said Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries were intended to create domestic instability, while acknowledging that the attacks had caused fuel shortages in several regions. He said the government was taking measures to address the supply disruptions.

Kazakhstan’s Energy Ministry said in emailed comments that it had not received a request from Russian state entities for humanitarian fuel supplies. However, it did not rule out exports from the Kondensat refinery, which processes naphtha supplied by Russian oil producer Tatneft.

“The possibility of supplying motor gasoline produced by Kondensat LLP to Russia in the near future will depend on the level of petroleum product availability on Kazakhstan’s domestic market,” the ministry said.

It added that if exports proceed, the gasoline would be produced using feedstock supplied by Tatneft.

Industry sources also cautioned that deliveries and payment mechanisms could face complications because of sanctions-related risks linked to the conflict in Ukraine.