Russian oil firms may cut exports during repairs

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia’s top oil firms have pledged to cut exports of refined products or build up stocks during refinery repairs if there is a risk of a domestic market shortage, the anti-monopoly service said on Wednesday.

“We wanted some clarifications as to what firms will do during repairs. They pledged to meet domestic market needs, including by cutting exports if needed,” the head of the regulator’s energy department, Alexander Pirozhenko, said.


“It is just a verbal pledge. There are no documents signed whatsoever. There are no volumes or dates either,” he told Reuters.

The service has no means to control oil flows and punish the firms for higher exports. It has been long seeking a bigger role of coordinating refinery maintenance to prevent price spikes on the domestic market.

Reuters