Russia to Temporarily Ban Gasoline Exports Starting March 1

Starting March 1, Russia will temporarily ban gasoline exports. This was announced to TASS and Interfax by a representative of Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak. The approval of the export ban by Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin comes in response to a seasonal increase in demand, reported RBK today.

The temporary export ban on gasoline will last for six months. Such a measure will help neutralize the increase in demand during the spring and summer periods, as well as during planned maintenance of oil refining facilities, noted Novak's representative.

The restriction will not apply to countries of the Eurasian Economic Union, South Ossetia, Abkhazia, Mongolia, and Uzbekistan.

To compensate for the rise in gasoline demand, the government also plans to increase the normative for diesel sales on the exchange to 16 percent, said the Deputy Prime Minister's representative.

In 2023, a ban on gasoline and diesel fuel exports was also imposed in Russia, which took effect on September 21. The purpose of the embargo was to saturate the domestic market with fuel and reduce prices. On October 6, the government relaxed the embargo by allowing pipeline exports of diesel fuel. On November 17, the ban on gasoline exports was lifted, and on November 22, the ban on summer diesel exports was also rescinded.