Energy Analysts Warn of Gasoline Shortages in Kazakhstan Amid Smuggling and Russian Refinery Issues

This fall, Kazakhstan may again face problems with gasoline supplies to gas stations due to the illegal export of fuel to neighboring countries, primarily Russia, Orda.kz reports.

According to oil and gas industry analyst Nurlan Zhumagulov, fuel shortages have emerged in several Russian regions because of extended repairs at oil refineries and periodic Ukrainian drone attacks.

Problems have been reported in the Far East, as well as in the Volga region. The gasoline shortage has also affected a number of Russian regions bordering Kazakhstan,he wrote in his Telegram channel Energy Monitor.

It is unknown how much fuel and lubricants are washed away in the Russian Federation by private vehicles. After all, due to the strengthening of the ruble against the tenge, the difference in prices for fuel and lubricants has almost doubled. At Qorday, a border point on the border with Kyrgyzstan, there is control: they check additional tanks, vehicles leave once a day, and so on. But it is impossible to control the regions bordering Russia, Zhumagulov noted.

Fuel smuggling from Kazakhstan is thriving due to the large price difference with neighboring countries. For example, in Bishkek, a liter of AI-95 costs about 477 tenge in Kazakhstani currency, compared to 270 tenge in Kazakhstan. This is used by both foreigners who come to fill up in border regions and citizens of Kazakhstan who earn money by reselling fuel and lubricants,he said.

Add to this the light business that is usually carried out at the border: transportation of people, fruits and vegetables, goods, plus conversion of cars to gas, plus enlarged fuel tanks — and you can earn at least a hundred dollars a day on gasoline alone. When crossing the border of Kazakhstan, you can see Kazakhstani fuel, which is sold along the highways in five-liter bottles, Baidildinov explained.

The expert warned that “the only reasonable solution to the problem is a gradual equalization of prices on the domestic market. As long as it is more profitable to sell fuel in neighboring countries, Kazakhstan will continue to regularly face fuel shortages at gas stations due to smuggling and gray schemes.”

The risk is compounded by the scheduled shutdown of the Atyrau Oil Refinery for one month starting October 1. Authorities hope the plant will build up sufficient reserves to supply western regions during the maintenance period.

Original Author: Nikita Drobny