Russian fuel producers are preparing for the Kremlin to scrap all remaining restrictions on diesel and gasoline exports next week, Reuters reported, nearly two months after the fuel export ban was introduced due to high domestic prices and shortages.
“They (authorities) told producers that exports will be opened up from next week,” an unnamed Russian oil company source told Reuters.
When the ban was announced, the Kremlin said it would be “temporary,” and had eased some restrictions last month by allowing diesel exports by pipeline. Most analysts had expected the ban to be short-lived and completely lifted when the harvest ended in Oct.
Energy Minister Nikolai Shulginov on Wednesday reportedly said the country was considering lifting the export ban on some grades of gasoline.
Russia ships ~1M bbl/day of diesel, making it one of the world’s biggest seaborne exporters of diesel, but it is a much smaller exporter of gasoline.
On Sunday, Russia said it would continue its additional voluntary supply cut of 300K bbl/day until the end of Dec.