21 Nov.2018

There Will Be No Fuel Shortages Due to the Fire at the Moscow Refinery / Statement Made by Ivan Khomutov on the TV Channel Moscow 24

Appearing on the TV channel Moscow 24, Ivan Khomutov, General Director of the Petromarket Research Group, was asked about the prospects of supplying gasoline to the capital following a blaze at Moscow’s petroleum refinery.

The blaze occurred on the morning of November 17, when a furnace in the plant’s catalytic cracking unit caught fire. One of the primary concerns is that the fire could result in a shortage of gasoline in the capital’s metropolitan area.

According to Petromarket RG, however, it is unlikely that a fire at the refinery would lead to a shortage of fuel at filling stations in Moscow. Although gasoline production at the plant will not stop altogether, it will decrease by some 40 thousand tons from the normal production capacity of 220 thousand tons, i.e. a reduction of less than 20%. The drop in volume is small and can, if necessary, be offset by fuel supplies taken from other refineries at Omsk and Yaroslavl, also controlled by the Moscow refinery owner, Gazprom Neft.