Unequal tank: Russian gas stations offer to check for fuel quality
Russian gas stations can check the quality of the fuel sold. The National Automobile Union (NAS), in a letter to Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Grigorenko, reported possible massive violations with gasoline dilution and underfilling at gas stations. Currently, inspections are carried out only in certain regions according to the instructions of the Prosecutor General's Office due to the current moratorium. However, WE believe that against the background of a local shortage of gasoline, gas stations may more often dilute fuel to increase stocks. The organization believes that the checks should be resumed. What the industry thinks about this is in the Izvestia article.
Fuel quality control at gas stations
The National Automobile Union sent a letter to Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Grigorenko with a request to organize gas station inspections for the quality of fuel sold. Izvestia has reviewed the document.
— According to market participants and motorists' appeals to the National Automobile Union, fuel appears at gas stations that does not comply with legal requirements. Illegal gas stations and mobile refueling complexes are being formed, selling various types of motor fuel without using certified equipment, with underfilling," the letter from US says.
Back in 2023, the government introduced a moratorium on business inspections, which is valid until 2030 as one of the business support measures. Control and supervisory measures in relation to gas stations are carried out only in certain regions according to the instructions of the Prosecutor General's Office, Anton Shalaev, head of Rosstandart, told Izvestia in an interview. The head of the agency called exceeding the mass fraction of sulfur and the flash point in an open crucible the most frequent violations.
As stated in the letter from US, operational control over fuel quality has now been effectively lost, which "can lead to massive problems for car owners, losses due to underfilling, and emergencies due to non-compliance with safety regulations." Izvestia sent inquiries to Rosstandart, the Ministry of Energy and the Prosecutor General's Office.
— Automobile fuel is a basic necessity, and its quality directly affects the safety of citizens and the economy of the country. In this highly competitive market, where more than 100 participants and over 30,000 gas stations are represented, strict control by the member states is necessary. It is especially important to ensure such control now, when individual gas stations could face local shortages, which creates a potential temptation to solve the problem by illegal means, counterfeiting, stirring gasoline, and carrying out various manipulations to increase its volume," NAS President Anton Shaparin explained to Izvestia.
In October, media reports surfaced about complaints from Russians about the failure of Chinese Geely cars due to engine problems. Geely Motors said that the problem is the level of oxidants in Russian gasoline, to which Chinese models are not adapted. The company noted that it is aware of the owners' appeals, but they are not widespread.
As Izvestia wrote, in recent months, gas stations in a number of regions of the country have begun to limit the volume of gasoline or sell only diesel. Local fuel shortages have been reported in some regions.: Market participants noted delays in its shipments from refineries.
Against this background, the wholesale price of fuel has remained at a high level in recent months: the price of Ai-92 on the St. Petersburg Stock Exchange broke a record on October 20, reaching the level of 74.3 thousand rubles per ton. And the cost of winter diesel on October 22 rose above 77.8 rubles per ton, which became a new record. In early September, the cost of 95 gasoline also reached a historic high of 82.3 thousand rubles per ton. As of October 23, Ai-95 was trading at 79 thousand, Ai-92 at 74.1 thousand, and winter diesel at 81.5 rubles, respectively, according to the exchange.
— Many gas stations have found themselves in a difficult situation — their margins have been negative since about July, which is why some independent gas stations have already been forced to suspend operations, and the remaining ones are suffering losses. The combination of record wholesale gasoline prices and the inability to comparably increase its cost at retail puts independent gas stations in an almost hopeless position. The difficult market conditions may indeed force some gas stations to resort to unfair practices, including under—filling or diluting gasoline," says Sergey Kaufman, an analyst at Finam.
As the Independent Fuel Union (NTS) reported to Izvestia, in September, the national average was about 4 rubles of loss per liter of both 92 and 95 gasoline. The authorities are trying to prevent its rise in retail prices above the annual inflation rate or to keep these figures close. The mechanism is implemented through the pressure of regulators, primarily the Federal Antimonopoly Service, on oil companies.
At the same time, against the background of difficulties in the market, some non-network gas stations in the regions raised prices by about 10%, or by 5-8 rubles to the price list of network operators, which led to increased antitrust checks.
"Against the background of fuel shortages in a number of regions, as well as administrative measures to stabilize the market, our request for inspections looks rational as a temporary anti—crisis measure," said Vladimir Chernov, analyst at Freedom Finance Global.
However, the expert added that a complete lifting of the moratorium for all would be excessive and would provoke a side effect in the form of an excessive administrative burden on bona fide networks. Therefore, it would be more correct to temporarily reduce the moratorium specifically for fuel retail in the regions where complaints are received, the expert believes.
Methods of fuel quality control
In June 2025, Anton Shalaev, head of Rosstandart, reported that from 2015 to 2024, the agency had checked over 10,000 gas stations. When this work began, the share of fuel that did not comply with obligations exceeded 20% on average in the country, and now it is 3.8−3.9%, he said.
— During their development, the requirements for Russian gasoline were harmonized with the European standard for fuel for Euro-5/6 vehicles, even with some stricter requirements. So, in fact, all major refineries in Russia now produce gasoline according to a stricter standard than in Europe and even more so in China, where traditionally, due to the characteristics of raw materials, there are certain quality weaknesses and there can be no question of any temporary revisions of the process with a deterioration in the quality of products, even under the conditions of accidents at refineries and the need to eliminate their consequences," said Mikhail Yershov, Professor at Gubkin Russian State University of Oil and Gas (NRU), General Director of the Center for Monitoring New Technologies.
As an industry source told Izvestia, most Russian gas stations do indeed comply with very strict fuel quality standards, especially for gas stations of large vertically integrated oil companies (WINKi). Problems may occur at small off-grid gas stations in remote regions, the source said.
Large WINCs with their own bases and gas station networks are not interested in spoiling their goods and their reputation, agrees Valery Andrianov, associate professor at the Financial University under the Government.
Izvestia sent inquiries to oil companies and fuel networks.
— It should be noted that gasoline is diluted not at the gas stations themselves, but at fuel bases. It is technically impossible to do this at the gas station itself. Accordingly, if there is an intention to combat counterfeiting, checks should be carried out and control over wholesale databases should be strengthened," the expert emphasized.
The accusations and calls for inspections that are voiced in US are not constructive.: They "add fuel to the fire," add unjustified negativity to an already difficult situation for the fuel business, and provoke panic among motorists, says Pavel Bazhenov, president of the NTS.
— Yes, there is a theoretical risk of violations at the gas station: in conditions of shortage, the probability of counterfeit products is hypothetically slightly higher. However, this does not give any reason to assert the systemic and widespread nature of the problem, making such conclusions should be based on facts, not speculation," he said.
Pavel Bazhenov noted that the current moratorium does not prohibit checking business entities based on the results of citizens' appeals and if there are signs of violations, and businesses face huge turnover fines for trading in counterfeit fuel.
— Trade in low—quality fuel in the current reality is an extremely questionable survival strategy, even in the most difficult conditions. It is much safer and more honest to either temporarily stop the sale, or raise the price above the oil companies' stele for a period of shortage: by 4-10 rubles, depending on the region, inevitably losing some customers. Most independent networks today are forced to do so," Pavel Bazhenov noted.
Modern methods of quality control, even by portable means, allow such cases to be quickly identified and recorded, therefore, arguments about mass facts of underfilling or sale of low-quality fuel look far-fetched, said Yuri Stankevich, deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on Energy. Both Rosstandart and law enforcement agencies can join US in verifying the statements: if the information is confirmed, the State Duma Committee on Energy will initiate a broader investigation calling for all those responsible to be held accountable, the deputy stressed.
Today, one of the main problems for the market is the rise in wholesale fuel prices while restraining retail prices, said Dmitry Gusev, Deputy Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Reliable Partner Association. In these circumstances, it is necessary to discuss not an additional unjustified administrative burden on business, but a new approach to market regulation, as well as mechanisms to support domestic oil refining, the expert concluded.
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