Rosneft caps petrol sales across Russia as refinery strikes tighten fuel supply

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Rosneft caps petrol sales

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Rosneft capped petrol sales at 30 litres per car in cities and 50 litres on highways across Russia after Ukraine resumed refinery strikes on October 30.
Since November 7, petrol rationing has spread to at least eight Russian regions, with Nizhny Novgorod implementing additional bans on petrol canisters and out-of-region vehicles from November 1.
In recent weeks, mass Ukrainian drone attacks knocked as much as 45 percent of Russian refining capacity offline, exposing persistent vulnerabilities in Russia’s fuel supply and refinery infrastructure.

Sales limits expand after renewed refinery attacks

As reported by Financial Times, Rosneft has restricted petrol sales at filling stations across Russia after Ukraine resumes long-range strikes on Russian refineries following a brief pause. The government of Zabaikalye in Russia's far east said in a statement that the state-owned oil group is capping sales across the country at 30 litres per car in cities and 50 litres on highways.

The latest wave of attacks resumes on October 30 after an interruption of roughly two weeks that the report says followed pressure on Kyiv from the Trump administration. The move comes before a new round of U.S.-brokered peace talks between Ukraine and Russia due in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.

Since November 7, petrol sales at Rosneft stations have been restricted in at least four Russian regions, according to local authorities. Russian media also report similar limits in four other regions, while authorities in Nizhny Novgorod have already imposed wider controls from November 1, including a ban on petrol sales in canisters and to vehicles registered outside the region.

Supply pressure builds across Russia's fuel market

The restrictions underline Russia's dependence on stable refining operations for petrol supply. Most passenger cars in Russia run on petrol, and the country usually produces only about 10 to 15 per cent more petrol than it consumes, meaning a relatively small decline in refining output is quickly felt at the pump.

Ukraine says its refinery strikes are a response to Russia's sustained attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure. Ukrainian authorities said on Monday that at least four regions would be left without electricity for up to 16 hours, while President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has presented the refinery campaign as a countermeasure to damage inflicted on Ukraine's power system.

In recent weeks, Ukrainian forces have struck at least eight Russian oil refineries, including four owned by Rosneft and a fifth jointly owned by Rosneft and Gazprom Neft. Ukrainian officials also say their forces hit a plant in Leningrad region that produces solid-fuel charges for Topol-M intercontinental ballistic missiles and Iskander-M ballistic missiles.

Russia has already used export controls to manage domestic supply pressures this year. Moscow banned petrol exports in April and later imposed a full diesel export ban in summer, before partially lifting that measure in October; analysts cited in the report say some of those steps may have been precautionary rather than a sign of immediate shortages.

Earlier in the year, intensified drone attacks forced large parts of Russia's refining network offline. At the peak of the disruption in late summer, as much as 45 per cent of the country's refining capacity was offline, triggering the worst fuel shortages since the collapse of the Soviet Union and prompting rationing across many regions.

Conditions improve in autumn as repairs progress, imports rise and seasonal demand eases, but the latest restrictions suggest the system remains vulnerable. An energy-sector businessman cited by the newspaper says refinery defences can stop a small number of drones, but not mass attacks, leaving fuel infrastructure exposed even after operators strengthen protection.

Our earlier article on the surge in oil shipping costs explained how conflict-related risks are forcing tankers to reroute and pay higher insurance premiums, making freight a much larger component of crude pricing. We noted that these added transport costs can filter quickly into higher gasoline prices and broader consumer inflation, with import-dependent markets and refiners among the most exposed.

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