Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak has directed relevant departments to prepare a balanced action plan to maintain the stability of the domestic fuel market, following a meeting on the state of Russia's petroleum product market. This was reported by the government press service on 22 June. Vedomosti has investigated which initiatives may be included in this plan.
According to two sources familiar with the meeting's outcomes, the list of measures may include facilitating imports of motor fuel into Russia. The Ministry of Finance is also expected to adjust the damping mechanism in the fuel market to enable government payments under this mechanism when importing petroleum products.
Russia currently imports petrol and diesel from Belarus. In October last year, the Council of the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) zeroed the import duty on supplies of petrol, diesel, aviation fuel, and marine fuel until 30 June 2026; previously, the duty rate was 5%. In early June this year, Russia proposed extending the zero import duty until 30 June 2027.
Another initiative that may be included in the government's plan, according to Vedomosti's sources, is the possibility of producing petroleum products in Russia with characteristics that slightly deviate from the current technical regulations. In mid-June, Kommersant reported that the government had allowed certain refineries to produce petrol and diesel with deviations from technical regulation requirements regarding sulphur content and other quality indicators.
According to one of Vedomosti's sources, implementing these measures may take approximately one month. The plan will also include traditional measures, such as ensuring oil companies prioritise fuel supplies to the domestic market and maximising their production capacity utilisation.
Another aspect may involve a temporary reduction—from 1 July to 30 September 2026—of the mandatory petrol sales quota on the exchange from 15% to 10% of production volume. A draft joint order by the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) and the Ministry of Energy to this effect has been published on the federal portal of regulatory legal acts. According to one Vedomosti source, volumes that would not be directed to the exchange would instead be allocated to agricultural producers and other socially significant consumers.
Additionally, the government meeting reviewed the results of monitoring the domestic fuel market situation, particularly regarding pricing. The FAS reported on measures taken to prevent unjustified price increases for petroleum products and to curb violations of antimonopoly legislation.
Meeting participants also examined the situation with petroleum product supplies to regions and assessed current stockpile levels. Representatives of oil companies reported on measures to saturate the domestic fuel market, maintain stable pricing, increase petroleum product production volumes, and commission new production capacity.
Novak instructed the FAS to continue continuous fuel price monitoring and, where necessary, promptly implement appropriate measures.
The fuel market stabilisation plan must be prepared taking into account existing regulatory mechanisms, the Cabinet noted in a statement.
Paying the damping mechanism for petrol imports is not about attracting supplies but about containing domestic prices, given that petrol and diesel prices on external markets are significantly higher, says Igor Yushkov, an expert at the Financial University under the Government. Otherwise, petrol at independent filling stations could cost tens of roubles more, agrees Sergey Kaufman, an analyst at Finam Group.
However, subsidising imports through the damping mechanism creates a dangerous precedent of funding foreign suppliers and could negatively impact Russian refining, says Dmitry Prokofiev, Director of External Communications at NEFT Research. Kaufman believes lowering environmental standards for fuel production will have a limited impact.
Regulators should consider the possibility of centrally purchasing fuel from non-CIS countries using funds from the Reserve Fund, which has been set aside in the federal budget for emergency government purchases, suggests Sergey Tereshkin, General Director of Open Oil Market. In his view, it is also important to maintain current petrol supply quotas to the exchange, as this improves independent filling stations' ability to assess the market situation.
All administrative measures that could help have already been implemented, Kaufman argues; what remains is either increasing imports or restoring production by preventing further attacks on refineries.
Vedomosti has sent inquiries to the Ministry of Energy, the Ministry of Finance, and the FAS.
Source: Vedomosti
