Belarus Restricts Fuel Supplies to Russia During Crisis

• Belarus restricts fuel supplies to Russia amid the crisis.
• Gasoline prices in Russia have risen by 8% since the beginning of August.
• Exporting fuel to foreign markets is more profitable for Belarus.

This is reported by RBC Ukraine, Ukrinform.

Belarus restricts fuel supplies to Russia, despite the crisis that has escalated in the agricultural sector. This is reported by the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine.

The agency states that the gasoline deficit in the Russian Federation forces regional authorities to start issuing coupons for fuel purchases. Prices for wholesale supplies have risen by 8% since the beginning of August. However, the ban on gasoline exports did not stabilize the market.

Belarus, which could partially compensate for the deficit, is doing so cautiously. In the second half of August, demand for Belarusian petroleum products in Russia is increasing. However, the capacity of Belarusian oil refineries is limited: they can produce 3-4 million tons of gasoline per year, of which 2 million are consumed domestically. For comparison, the current demand in Russia is about 3 million tons.

Exporting gasoline to Russia is economically unfeasible for Belarus. It is initially more profitable to supply fuel to foreign markets, such as China, India, and Africa, where prices range from $1,300 to $1,900 per ton, while in Russia they sell for less than $1,000. Even during the previous crisis in early 2024, Minsk sent only 3,000 tons to Russia — just 0.1% of the monthly demand.

It is also worth noting that earlier it was reported about the introduction of strict restrictions on gasoline sales in some regions of Russia and in temporarily occupied Crimea, where one person can buy a maximum of 10 liters of fuel.

Tags: Russia/Energy