There just isn't enough: why is there no AI-92 gasoline at many gas stations in the Altai Territory?
Economics , 6:32, 10/16/2025
Gasoline, fuel, refuelingPhoto: unsplash.com
Experts say there's no indication yet that rising gasoline prices have stopped. But there are circumstances that could accelerate them.
AI-92 gasoline is available at oil company stations in the Altai Krai (Rosneft and Gazpromneft), but is unavailable at approximately 70% of independent stations, which are the majority in the region. The situation with AI-95 is slightly better – it's still available at most stations, Yuri Matveyko, vice president of the Russian Fuel Union, told Tolko.
But fuel prices are rising, and there's no reason to stop this process yet. However, the Omsk Oil Refinery is expected to reach full capacity soon, which could partially ease the tension. Altai Krai authorities are holding meetings on the topic.
There is not enough supply
The price of AI-95 gasoline at those gas stations that still have it has reached 70 rubles per liter. Meanwhile, locals complain that fuel prices have risen repeatedly over the past ten days.
There are approximately 520 gas stations in the Altai Krai, of which only about 110 belong to major oil companies; the rest, nearly three-quarters, are privately owned. In some areas of the region, these are essentially the only ones operating, including providing gasoline to school buses, ambulances, and other public services.
"About 70% of independent gas stations don't have AI-92 gasoline because they can't buy it," says Yuriy Matveyko.
He emphasizes that he is unaware of any instances of independent gas stations failing to fulfill their "social" obligations. However, private gas stations need government assistance today and in the future—to ensure they have the opportunity to purchase AI-92 in small wholesale quantities, at least in accordance with their contractual obligations. Currently, this grade is generally unavailable at most gas stations.
Currently, gas stations in the Altai Krai are trying to buy gasoline from only two refineries: YaYa (Kuzbass) and the Omsk Oil Refinery. The latter was partially undergoing scheduled maintenance and is scheduled to return to full capacity soon. This may partially ease the pressure, but certainly won't solve the problem completely, says the expert. Gasoline production in the country has declined, in part due to unscheduled refinery maintenance.
As Vedomosti reported back in early September, drone attacks on refineries are commonplace – in August alone, approximately 10 refineries, accounting for 17% of the country's total fuel production, were targeted. As a result, the Russian government, working with oil companies, has been revising the timing of scheduled maintenance to avoid periods of peak gasoline demand, Energy Minister Sergei Tsivilev reported at the Eastern Economic Forum 2025 on September 4.
The price is rising
The head of the region confirmed that in some areas of the region there is a delay in gasoline deliveries to individual gas stations, but they promise to resolve the problem as soon as possible.
Gasoline prices are rising, and there is no reason to predict that this process will slow down.
The main players influencing price formation are oil companies. And there are several factors currently influencing pricing.
The first is the actual shortage of fuel on the market, which automatically leads to an increase in prices.
Second , there's the long-standing pricing policy of oil companies, which regularly charge higher wholesale prices per ton than retail prices at their own gas stations. This means that private gas stations, even at the purchasing stage, receive a higher price per liter than chain gas stations, without taking into account their necessary expenses for rent, taxes, salaries, and so on.
This problem has been repeatedly pointed out by owners of independent petrol stations.
"Today, you can hear
initiatives to cap prices at gas stations. But why at retail?! The barrier needs to be set at wholesale. If the wholesale price isn't high, the retail price won't rise. At private gas stations, a liter of gasoline is currently 7-8 rubles higher, but even this price doesn't allow them to break even. Nowadays, entrepreneurs often pay taxes, and even salaries, from their own funds and loans, rather than from their income," explains Yuriy Matveyko.
There's a third factor—more global, but directly related to price. On October 12, the Russian president signed a decree resetting the damper from October 1, 2025, to May 1, 2026. What does this mean and why is it important?
The damper is a mechanism by which oil companies receive budget compensation if export fuel prices are higher than those on the domestic market. In other words, the budget pays for fuel producers to keep their fuel domestically rather than selling it at a higher profit abroad. However, these payments are cancelled if the wholesale price of gasoline on the domestic exchange exceeds certain amounts.
The situation was brought under control, and gas station owners were advised to review their refill system at gas stations.
In August, the price of gasoline on the exchange began to rise rapidly, surpassing this threshold—and oil companies faced the prospect of not receiving their budgetary damper payments. This is a huge sum. Citing the Russian Ministry of Finance, "
Expert " reports that payments for the first nine months of 2025 totaled over 700 billion rubles, and for all of 2024, 1.8 trillion.
So, the decree abolishes this wholesale price threshold, after which damper payments were no longer made, until May 2026. Now, oil companies will receive it regardless.
On the one hand, experts say, this will allow oil companies to maintain their profit margins, meaning they won't have to "make up" revenue through rising gasoline prices. This means the balance will be maintained, and market supply won't decrease.
But on the other hand, there are also significant risks, especially for areas without chain gas stations. "There's a risk that oil companies won't hold down wholesale prices, but will instead try to hold down fuel prices at [their own] retail outlets. Then independent gas stations will be unprofitable, and that's 11,000-14,000 stations in Russia," Expert quotes Maxim Dyachenko, managing director of Proleum, one of the country's largest fuel traders.