Russia banned exports of diesel in order to avoid domestic shortages after a flurry of attacks by Ukrainian drones on the nation’s refineries.
The decision could further squeeze global fuel markets, which are already under pressure due to the supply disruption caused by the Iran war. Last year, Russia accounted for about 11% of global supplies of diesel, according to data compiled by Bloomberg from analytics firm Vortexa Ltd.
Exports of the fuel were previously banned only for traders and other sellers in Russia that don’t make their own fuel.
“Today we introduced ban on exports of diesel,” Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said at the government’s meeting with President Vladimir Putin.
The diesel export ban comes on top of existing restrictions on most shipments of gasoline and jet fuel. Russia has been struggling to ensure domestic oil-product supplies and to contain prices at the pump after drone attacks damaged several refineries.
Ukraine’s intensified strikes pushed Russia’s crude-processing rates to multi-year lows. Many regions have been forced to impose some degree of fuel rationing because of the disruptions.
Even before the ban, Russia’s diesel and gasoil exports were dropping significantly.
