Russian regions are introducing limits on fuel, explaining this as an “artificial rush.” Taxi drivers complain about shortages, queues and rising prices

Over the past two days, authorities in several Russian regions have announced restrictions on fuel sales, begun manual distribution of supplies, or urged residents not to buy gasoline for future use. Almost everywhere, what is happening is explained not by shortages, but by rush demand, speculation, attempts to stock up on fuel and logistics problems, follows from messages that The Insider studied using the IONA monitoring system .

In the Saratov region, from June 23 to June 30, a limit was introduced on the sale of gasoline: no more than 30 liters per car. Governor Roman Busargin called this a forced measure to reduce “unfounded excitement” and possible speculation. According to him, in recent days, high demand for gasoline of all brands has been recorded in the region, and many buyers took fuel “with a significant margin in excess of the real need.”

In the Omsk region, Governor Vitaly Khotsenko announced that gas stations will only dispense fuel into the car tank. There is a limit of 40 liters per car for gasoline, 80 liters for diesel at city gas stations and 200 liters at highway gas stations. Khotsenko explained the restrictions by the fight against “artificial hype” and speculation.

In the Irkutsk region , according to Governor Igor Kobzev, restrictions on the supply of gasoline were introduced by individual gas stations, and some gas stations temporarily stopped servicing. Kobzev said that the region had to switch to “manual mode” and determine the volume of fuel for each recipient individually. According to him, the authorities must first provide fuel to ambulances, fire trucks, public transport, utilities and agricultural machinery.

In the Novosibirsk region, Governor Andrei Travnikov warned that the region will also have to limit the supply of fuel. He explained this by saying that limits had already been introduced in neighboring regions, which means that without additional measures, “speculative demand” could arise in the Novosibirsk region.

In the Voronezh region, from June 23, restrictions will be introduced at Lukoil gas stations. In the city you can fill up 30 liters of gasoline or 60 liters of diesel at a time, on the highway - 60 liters of gasoline or 200 liters of diesel. The regional government reported that at federal network gas stations, reserves of AI-92, AI-95 and diesel fuel are maintained in sufficient quantities, and the temporary lack of fuel at individual gas stations is due to logistics and increased demand.

Temporary restrictions were also introduced in the Penza region from June 23. Now you can only refuel into a car tank; for individuals, the limit is 100 liters of gasoline and 200 liters of diesel per car. Governor Oleg Melnichenko argues that the measure is needed to avoid “artificial shortages and its negative consequences.” According to him, interruptions occurred at individual gas stations due to logistical problems, and the authorities will monitor the situation at gas stations daily.

In the Vladimir region, Governor Alexander Avdeev called on residents to reduce trips in private cars if possible and buy gasoline only in the required quantities. He said a number of companies had logistical problems and then increased demand made the situation worse. Because of this, queues appeared even at those gas stations where supplies were going according to plan. Until the situation stabilizes, the authorities promise to give priority when distributing fuel to emergency and public services, public transport, product suppliers, waste haulers and agricultural producers.

In the Tambov region, the head of the region, Evgeny Pervyshov, urged residents not to buy fuel and not create an artificial rush. According to regional authorities, chain gas stations may temporarily limit the sale of gasoline and diesel in cans or other containers in order to prevent speculation and curb price increases at non-chain gas stations.

In North Ossetia, the head of the region, Sergei Menyailo, ordered the formation of an “emergency fuel reserve.” The republican authorities also stated that they are working on additional guaranteed supplies.

In the Tver region, authorities claim that there is no shortage of fuel at oil depots, but at some gas stations there are temporary interruptions in work due to increased demand. In the Samara region, Governor Vyacheslav Fedorishchev announced strengthening control over prices and promised to quickly respond to “distortions” and violations. According to him, agriculture and industry will be provided with fuel.

Against this background, drivers and taxi drivers in the regions complain about queues, closed gas stations and rising prices at small gas stations. The BFM publication, which surveyed taxi drivers and taxi fleet owners in several regions, writes that there are indeed interruptions, but the situation differs from region to region. At large chain gas stations, fuel often remains at the same prices, while small gas stations either do not work or sharply increase prices.

Taxi driver from Kaluga Pavel said that large queues are forming in the region, although travel fares have not yet increased. “It’s not that demand has increased, it’s just that people need to work,” he said. According to the driver, prices at Rosneft and Gazprom Neft have basically not changed, but at some non-chain gas stations they already sell gasoline for 100 rubles per liter. “This is not a conspiracy, it’s just that they either close down or get 100 rubles each,” he believes.

A difficult situation, according to the head of one of the taxi companies, Evgeny Ermolaev, is now developing in the Urals. He named Yekaterinburg, Perm and Chelyabinsk: “Not all gas stations are working. Now you can find gasoline somewhere at the fifth or sixth gas station.” According to him, at private gas stations the price of 92-grade gasoline reached 86 rubles per liter, and chain gas stations sometimes don’t have 92-grade gasoline or 95-grade gasoline.

Residents of villages in the Amur region complain about the ban on refueling in canisters. Because of this, they cannot get fuel for generators, lawn mowers and special equipment.

Fuel shortages are already reflected in search queries. “Verstka” studied data from Google Trends and Yandex Wordstat and found that over the past three months, Russians have become more than 10 times more likely to search the Internet for “how to drain gasoline.” At the end of March, such a request appeared on Yandex about 4 thousand times a week, and in the week from June 15 to 21, the number of requests approached 44 thousand.

On Google, interest in the query “how to drain gasoline” has also increased approximately 10 times. In March it was 8–10 points out of 100, last week it rose to 43 points, and this week it reached its maximum value.

The publication associates the increase in such requests with limits on gas stations and a ban on the sale of fuel in cans. Users on social networks write that some drivers refuel, drive off, pour gasoline into containers and return to the gas station. At the same time, complaints are emerging that unknown persons are siphoning gasoline from other people's cars.

At the federal level, the fuel situation was discussed at a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak. Following the meeting, he instructed the departments to prepare measures to support the domestic fuel market, and the FAS to continue monitoring prices.