Putin: Russian refineries operate at maximum, but problems at gas stations persist

President of Russia Vladimir Putin held a meeting on ensuring the domestic fuel market with the participation of heads of the country's largest energy companies. The head of state reported that previously accumulated volumes of fuel have already entered the domestic market.

According to him, despite the start of using the formed reserves, current gasoline reserves amount to about 1.7 million tons, which practically corresponds to the level of the same period last year. Putin emphasized that the capacities of the largest oil refineries are currently utilized to the maximum, scheduled repairs are postponed, and current technical work is being carried out in the shortest possible time.

At the same time, the Russian leader openly admitted that, despite the availability of sufficient volumes of reserves, it has not yet been possible to fully stabilize the situation on the ground. "You know well that problems persist for both motorists and businesses. And, unfortunately, there are also lines at gas stations, and the right brand of gasoline cannot always be found now," the president stated. He also pointed out the difficulties faced by farms and agro-industrial enterprises during the summer period. To stabilize the situation and protect domestic consumers, the country has already introduced a temporary complete ban on the export of automobile gasoline and aviation kerosene, and the possibility of a similar restriction on the export of diesel fuel is also being considered.