East Kazakhstan Residents Question Gas Station Restrictions on Fuel Canisters

Residents of East Kazakhstan Region are outraged by a ban on filling gasoline into canisters at gas stations. Checks at gas stations are already underway in Glubokoye and Altai districts, Orda.kz reports.

Gas station owners have been reminded of the rules: fuel must not be released for export outside Kazakhstan above the established limits.

Employees of the State Revenue Department in Altai District have already held explanatory work with gas station owners. The issue is preventing fuel from being taken out of Kazakhstan above the established limits, including in additional tanks,the district state revenue office said.

The restriction angered social media users, who began actively criticizing it in the comments. Most of all, people are worried about how they are now supposed to refuel equipment that cannot be brought to a gas station.

And what rule regulates this ban? How are we supposed to refuel motorcycles, especially watercraft? Should we drag a boat, a scooter or an ATV to the gas station on a trailer? And what about garden tools, trimmers, mowers, chainsaws and generators — should they also be brought to the gas station with their tiny factory tanks?one user wrote.

This is complete idiocy. I have a motorboat. How am I supposed to fill it up? Before coming up with something like this, hire someone with brains,another resident wrote.

Garden equipment also became part of the discussion. Some residents sarcastically described arriving at a gas station on a lawnmower.

We came to the gas station on a lawnmower, and they still wouldn’t fill it up. What are we supposed to do now?one resident wrote.

Some commenters linked the ban to a major festival in the region. The international festival Altai — Golden Cradle of the Turkic World has started in Katon-Karagay District. Because of the influx of tourists, local authorities earlier asked residents to bring gasoline with them in advance.

We ask residents of our region to come with their own gasoline to avoid queues at gas stations and leave fuel for guests arriving from other regions of Kazakhstan and from abroad,Katon-Karagay District akim Daniyar Dusembayev said earlier.

The restrictions are linked to the ban on fuel exports. From May 21 to November 21, 2026, gasoline, diesel and some petroleum products cannot be exported from Kazakhstan by road or rail. Fuel may be taken out by car only in standard factory tanks and no more than once a day. Additional, homemade or modified tanks are prohibited.

Original author: Elena Medvedeva

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