The Ministry of Energy named the cause of fuel outages in southern Russia

Fuel shortages in southern Russia arose due to attempts to create an artificial shortage by closing gas stations. About it reported “RIA Novosti” Russian Energy Minister Nikolai Shulginov at the Eastern Economic Forum (WEF).

“The situation in the south of Russia is largely connected not with logistical difficulties, but with the fact that someone was simply trying to play on the situation – closing gas stations, creating an artificial shortage,” he said.

Shulginov noted that the Ministry of Energy is trying to stop such actions. The minister emphasized that the domestic market’s fuel needs are fully met by production.

August 22 “Izvestia” reported about fuel shortages in the Astrakhan, Volgograd, Saratov, Ryazan, Novosibirsk regions, as well as in Kalmykia and Crimea. General Director of Mosregiongaz German Kolotov explained the shortage of fuel in the southern regions by delays in delivery by rail. According to him, trains carrying petroleum products take several weeks longer than usual, resulting in a shortage.

At the end of August the Ministry of Energy recommended oil companies to contain prices for diesel fuel in agricultural regions of Russia. They explained that difficulties with the “rhythm of supplies” of fuel are observed against the backdrop of high congestion on the railway during the tourist season. At the same time in Russian Railways statedthat supplies to the southern regions do not depend on the growth in passenger traffic.