Russia's Novak floats partial lifting of diesel export ban
The signal comes after Moscow extended the ban through October following a wave of refinery strikes
Published
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said Russia will consider partially lifting its restrictions on diesel exports, the first sign of possible easing since the government extended the ban just days ago.
Moscow imposed the diesel export ban on producers in July, after Ukrainian strikes drove Russian oil-processing rates to multiyear lows, according to Bloomberg. The curbs were extended through August and then through October 31, with officials citing the need to keep domestic fuel markets stable during the harvest season, the Moscow Times reported. A separate, broader ban covering gasoline and other fuel exports runs until January 31, 2027, according to Enerdata.
The pressure on refining has not let up. Drone attacks knocked out three of Russia's six largest diesel-producing refineries in September, according to roic.ai. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Ukraine struck Russian refineries again overnight, the latest in a string of hits on Russian fuel infrastructure since September.
Novak's remark is the first indication Moscow might loosen the restrictions, but he gave no timeline or scope, and offered nothing on crude export flows or the sanctions and negotiation tracks running alongside the fuel curbs. Russia exported 34.2 million tonnes of diesel in 2025, according to Enerdata, a scale that shows how much is riding on any rollback. A partial lift would ease the diesel supply tightness that has built up since September, but continued Ukrainian strikes on refineries mean any relief could prove short-lived if more processing capacity goes offline.