Column by Olga Mordyushenko about possible problems with the production of winter diesel fuel

The Russian fuel market, suffering from a surplus of petroleum products amid a ban on their exports since September 21, may face another problem if the situation is not resolved soon. Market participants fear that the transition to the production of winter diesel fuel, which traditionally occurs in October, will be disrupted. This may become especially critical for the northern regions. “All diesel vehicles that travel north of Tobolsk will simply stop starting,” says one of Kommersant’s interlocutors. He recalls that diesel fuel is mainly used by commercial and public transport, and it is also necessary for the army.

There are four types of diesel fuel: summer, interseasonal, winter and Arctic, the latter allows the operation of vehicles down to minus 55°C. Conventional diesel fuel thickens at subzero temperatures due to the paraffins it contains, which can lead to poor engine performance and the inability to start the car. The problem is solved by adding kerosene fraction to summer diesel fuel.

Typically, with the approach of cold weather, fuel designed for warm weather was forced out of storage tanks within a month, as well as from the Transneft system, gradually being replaced by a winter type. But at the moment, almost all storage tanks are already occupied with summer diesel fuel, since it cannot be exported. Transneft’s tanks, two sources in oil companies say, will last less than two days. According to them, the refineries at the beginning of last week received notifications from Transneft that in ten days (that is, by approximately October 4) it would stop accepting petroleum products if the accumulated products were not distributed. A similar situation has developed on the railway: all tanks are filled with diesel. The only option, jokes one of Kommersant’s interlocutors, where else the unclaimed fuel could be dumped is about 20 empty tankers docked in the European ports of the Russian Federation. But this requires customs permission – oil companies must prove that the cargo is intended for the domestic market.

Market participants say that while the delay in switching to winter diesel fuel will not lead to a disaster, it will greatly complicate the work of many services in the north. A shortage of commercial winter diesel fuel will lead to the emergence of surrogates (handicraft mixed summer diesel fuel and jet fuel), and since the export of jet fuel is allowed, a shortage of kerosene fraction may occur. And if the overstocking of refineries with diesel fuel forces factories to reduce processing, gasoline production will also suffer. Oil companies are already preparing an appeal to President Vladimir Putin with a request to lift the export ban, before this measure leads to a cascade of new problems.