Overview
- Kazakh authorities have restricted passenger and cargo vehicles to a single border crossing per day and say security services are targeting cars fitted with extra tanks used for informal fuel exports.
- Officials in Kazakhstan say consumption has risen noticeably in West Kazakhstan, Aktobe and Pavlodar regions because drivers from Russia have been traveling to fill up at border pumps.
- The move follows a wave of strikes on Russian refineries, including reported damage to the Omsk plant, that has cut Russian output and prompted Russian regional sales limits and an export ban on petrol, diesel and aviation kerosene.
- Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Energy and national companies report they have formed a fuel reserve and are managing domestic consumption while neighbouring states such as Tajikistan say they hold short-term stocks and are negotiating with multiple suppliers beyond Russia.
- Central Asia relies heavily on Russian fuel supplies so disruptions in Russia can quickly create queues at border stations, drive enforcement measures like Kazakhstan’s limits, and push states to seek alternative import sources.