By Charles Kennedy of OilPrice.com
The fuel crisis in Russia has started to ease in recent days as some refineries have restarted operations, Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Sunday.
“The situation is gradually stabilizing, a number of oil refineries became operational again. The balance is better now, and the situation at fuel filling stations has considerably improved, including when it comes to supplying agricultural producers,” Russian news agency Interfax quoted the official as saying.
“The situation remains quite tense in some regions, especially in some regions in Siberia. We are effectively resolving issues of fuel supply manually at the federal headquarters with regions and companies,” said Novak, who added that the crisis “situation is temporary.”
Amid peak demand season, Russia has been suffering from gasoline and diesel shortages for more than two months now, as Ukraine’s drone campaign to strike Russian refineries forced many large processing sites offline in the spring and early summer.
Early this month, Russia banned diesel exports to protect its domestic supply, creating a ripple effect on the already
