The government has allowed oil companies to significantly reduce the volume of sales of gasoline and diesel fuel on the stock exchanges and supply this fuel to the target.
"The government decree clarifies the procedure for the execution of existing standards for the sale of petroleum products on the stock exchange. In particular, it provides for the possibility to take into account confirmed targeted deliveries of petroleum products to certain categories of consumers when meeting exchange standards. We are talking about supplies for the agro-industrial complex, northern import territories, the construction industry and other socially significant categories of consumers. The decision is valid from July 1, 2026 to December 31, 2026," the Ministry of Energy said.
For example, with the current standard of 10% to 8% of gasoline may not be sold on the stock exchange, but delivered to the address.
"For diesel fuel, at a rate of 16%, up to 13% can be executed through targeted deliveries, and at least 3% is still subject to mandatory sale at open exchange auctions," the ministry said.
"The proposed changes are aimed at increasing the sustainability of the domestic market of petroleum products," said Energy Minister Sergei Tsivilev.
Maxim Shaposhnikov, advisor to the Industrial Code Fund manager, believes that the government is trying to prevent speculation amid the continuing risks of fuel shortages.
"Address distribution today, against the background of the capabilities of computing systems, no longer seems to be a relic of the past, but, on the contrary, is considered as a promising direction of economic management. Further deterioration of the global economy against the background of the destruction of traditional economic ties may give rise to the revival of planned command methods of managing the economy on an already new technological basis," the expert believes.