Russian gasoline exports rose 50.7 percent to 473.019 tonnes in April month-on-month, while domestic shipments fell by 11.1 percent, Energy Ministry and Reuters data showed. Gasoil and fuel oil exports fell by 18.0 percent and 5.6 percent, respectively. Local shipments of gasoil rose by 1.5 percent, domestic supplies of fuel oil fell by 4.8 percent month-on-month.
Lower exports of gasoil and fuel oil have resulted from reduced refinery runs, while domestic gasoil shipments were supported by growing demand in the transportation, construction and agricultural sectors ahead of summer season. Gasoline exports to Kazakhstan grew sharply in April ahead of ban on petroleum products' imports due to an overstocked local market.
Kazakhstan imposed restrictions on May 21, 2013 till January next year on imports of gasoline and fuel oil from Russia to protect domestic refineries' margins. The ban could hit Gazprom Neft, an oil arm of Russia's Gazprom, as it operates its own filling stations in Kazakhstan and supplies products from Omsk refinery located across the border. Year-on-year, Russian gasoline exports rose sharply by 75.6 percent, while domestic supplies fell by 4.8 percent. Total gasoline output was up by 3.9 percent to 2.86 million tonnes in April from 2.75 million a year earlier.