Apps, Networking, Black Market: How Russians Battle Fuel Crunch

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(Bloomberg) — Ukraine’s campaign of attacks on Russian oil refineries is increasingly complicating the lives of drivers across the country as they are forced to embark on more difficult quests to refuel their cars.

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Russians are now waking up before dawn to be the first in line at the nearest filling station, downloading apps that crowd-source information on where to buy the right grade of gasoline or resorting to the black market. Some are even converting their cars to alternative fuels. 

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Just two weeks ago buying gasoline around Moscow wasn’t an issue. While there were stations that didn’t have a particular type of fuel, drivers could go somewhere nearby, according to 37-year-old Elena. But the situation in Moscow and the Moscow region, the nation’s largest fuel-consuming area, has changed. 

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“You can get gasoline but you have to look for it really hard,” she said.

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Russians started to feel the squeeze after Ukraine pummeled refineries for weeks. In May, the strikes reached a historic high with at least 17 recorded, resulting in production halts at some plants that feed the whole of European Russia. The nation’s oil-processing fell to a 20-year low in June, according to data from EA Analytics, with increasingly less fuel supplied to buyers at home.

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While attacks in June were below the May record, their effects were no less devastating. Two strikes on Moscow’s refinery effectively shut the biggest fuel supplier to the capital and, for the first time since the invasion started in 2022, disrupted the everyday lives of many Muscovites.

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The deficit, which earlier this summer was visible in southern Russia and the occupied Ukrainian territories, spread to central Russia and on as far as the Pacific coast. As of end-June, around 90% of Russian regions imposed some kind of fuel rationing or reported supply issues, according to a Bloomberg tally of public statements.

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Alexander, 44, on Sunday went on a trip of 100 kilometers (60 miles) from Russia’s Bryansk, close to the border with Belarus, and couldn’t find a single operating gas station along the way. “Gasoline used to be in stock as recently as on Friday and Saturday,” he said. “Now I found it only at one station, in the middle of nowhere.” 

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On Sunday, President Vladimir Putin for the first time during the squeeze acknowledged some fuel-supply issues exist, though he said they were “not critical.” 

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To be sure, not every Russian region is experiencing acute shortages. Several people in Russia’s Volga and Urals region told Bloomberg last week they barely faced any issues with buying gasoline officially and blamed panic buyers for long lines and occasional dry filling stations. 

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In the oil-rich region of Tatarstan, also home to some big refineries, a cafe last week offered its customers 3-5 liters of gasoline and a jerry can for free with an order worth more than 1,500-2,500 rubles ($20-$32). 

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Crowd-Sourcing and Apps

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Still, elsewhere some Russians are using apps and websites that track fuel availability to avoid driving from one dry filling station to another. Yandex.Fuel, part of Russia’s most popular search engine, can sort gas stations across the whole nation by type of fuel, though some users note the information isn’t always up to date.