Russia asks Belarus for petrol after production collapse and attacks on refineries
At least 14% of Russian refineries' capacities are in emergency shutdown due to drone attacks
Belarus has agreed to help Russia and is ready to supply 100,000-150,000 tonnes of petrol per month to the Russian market to prevent fuel shortages, Pavel Zavalny, chairman of the State Duma's Energy Committee, said on Thursday.
Source. This was reported by Reuters.
"They (Belarus) agreed to help at the moment, although it is clear that their export alternative is more profitable," he said on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Mercantile Exchange (SPIMEX) forum.
Earlier, Reuters sources said that Russia plans to increase imports of motor fuel from Belarus due to the risk of a shortage due to the growth of unscheduled repairs at Russian refineries.
Since the beginning of 2024, several Russian refineries have been fully or partially shut down due to equipment breakdowns or external attacks.
According to the publication's estimates, 14% of Russian refineries' capacities are in emergency shutdown due to drone attacks, of which almost 10% are refineries that produce motor petrol and diesel fuel for the domestic market.
On 13 March, a drone strike damaged Rosneft's largest refinery in Ryazan, which supplies fuel to Moscow and the region. After the fire, two units at the refinery stopped working, resulting in a one-third drop in petrol production (3,300 tonnes per day) and a more than half drop in diesel production (5,800 tonnes per day).
On 16 March, the only operating refining unit at the Syzran refinery (also owned by Rosneft) caught fire due to a drone attack, and on 28 March, it was reported that the company's Kuibul refinery had shut down.
Last weekend, it shut down one of its two refineries due to a fire, and a few days later had to shut down the second.
If you have read this article to the end, we hope that means it was useful for you.
We work to ensure that our journalistic and analytical work is of high quality, and we strive to perform it as competently as possible. This also requires financial independence. Support us for only UAH 196 per month.
Become a Mind subscriber for just USD 5 per month and support the development of independent business journalism!
You can unsubscribe at any time in your LIQPAY account or by sending us an email: [email protected]
