Russia has increased its purchases of gasoline in Belarus amid attacks on refineries

Against the background of drone attacks on oil refineries, Russia has increased the purchase of gasoline in Belarus.

In March, Russia sharply increased imports of Belarusian gasoline amid drone attacks on Russian oil refineries, Reuters reports.

If in January the Russian Federation did not purchase gasoline from Belarus, then in February it imported 590 tons, and in March – already 3 thousand tons of fuel, say interlocutors of the agency, familiar with the statistics.

Russia usually imports very little Belarusian fuel, Reuters notes. The last increase in purchases occurred in August-October 2023, when there was a temporary ban on exports due to a sharp increase in gasoline prices. A similar ban was introduced in Russia on March 1.

Sources of the agency claim that the authorities of the Russian Federation and Belarus, as well as oil companies, are conducting negotiations on the further continuation of supplies. According to one of the interlocutors of Reuters, the negotiations are going hard because Belarusian producers prefer to send their oil for export through Russian ports. How much gasoline Russia will need will depend on the timing of refinery repairs, another source noted.

In exchange for additional supplies of gasoline, Russian oil companies can increase oil supplies to Belarusian refineries. In general, two largest refineries operate in Belarus: Novopolotskyi and Mozyrskyi, focused on Russian oil.

Against the background of attacks by Ukrainian drones on refineries, gasoline production in Russia in the week from March 18 to 24 decreased by 14.3% in annual terms. Compared to the previous week, the reduction was 7.4%.

Since the beginning of 2024, Ukrainian drones have carried out more than 10 effective attacks on Russian oil refineries and oil storage facilities.

Read also: Export of oil products from Russian ports decreased by 25%