Shipments of Belarusian fuel to Russia declined around the turn of July and August. Kommersant reports this, citing an industry source.
According to the source, sales of rail shipments of Belarusian gasoline to Russia from July 20 to Aug. 12 amounted to 21,000 tonnes, compared with 165,000 tonnes from June 22 to July 17, while diesel fuel shipments over the same period fell to 8,500 tonnes from 115,900 tonnes, respectively. The source said market participants had reduced their purchases of Belarusian fuel in the hope that the situation with gasoline production in Russia would improve in August.
It was previously reported that Belarusian fuel shipments to Russia reached a record level in July, totaling 212,000 tonnes of gasoline and 162,000 tonnes of diesel fuel.
The publication notes that a new wave of fuel shortages could occur in September due to scheduled maintenance at major Russian facilities and Belarusian Naftan.
The two Belarusian oil refineries can produce about 3.5 million tonnes of gasoline a year, the article says. Just over 2 million tonnes of this is exported. The average monthly export capacity of each of the two plants is slightly more than 80,000 tonnes. For comparison, domestic demand for motor gasoline in Russia is about 40 million tonnes a year (3.3 million tonnes a month).
It should be noted that a decline in sales of Belarusian fuel on the St. Petersburg Exchange was also reported in early July, but the month ultimately became a record one.
