Russia lifts ban on most of diesel exports

MOSCOW  -Russia’s government said on Friday it had lifted a ban on pipeline diesel exports via ports, removing the bulk of restrictions installed on Sept. 21.

The restrictions for gasoline exports are still in place.

Diesel is Russia’s biggest oil product export, at about 35 million tons last year, of which almost three-quarters were shipped via pipelines. Russia also exported 4.8 million tons of gasoline in 2022.

“The government lifted restrictions on exports of diesel fuel delivered to seaports by pipeline, provided that the manufacturer supplies at least 50 percent of the produced diesel fuel to the domestic market,” the government said in a statement.

The restrictions on fuel exports from Russia, the world’s top seaborne exporter of the fuel, just ahead of the United States, have bolstered global prices and forced some buyers to scramble for alternative sources of gasoline and diesel.

The government also hiked fuel export duty for resellers to 50,000 rubles per ton from 20,000 rubles and reinstalled subsidies, or damper payments, for oil refineries.