Let's go to the gas station: they started selling gas stations in Russia
Over the past month, more than 150 ads for the sale of gas stations have appeared on marketplaces and company websites. The asset price ranges from 1 to 150 million rubles. Not only independent gas stations are up for sale, but also facilities of large companies. Gazprom sells gas stations in the Astrakhan, Rostov, Tambov and Nizhny Novgorod regions, while Lukoil sells gas stations in the Tver, Tyumen, Chelyabinsk, Kaluga and Perm regions. As of the beginning of 2026, there were about 27.7 thousand gas stations operating in Russia. What are the reasons and what the industry can expect in the future — in the material of Izvestia.
Why did they start selling gas stations in Russia?
Owners of private gas stations in Russia have begun to actively put them up for sale. As Izvestia found out, over the past month, more than 150 ads have been posted on marketplace websites, portals with ads for commercial real estate, as well as corporate websites of companies. Such objects are sold in Bryansk, Kursk, Samara, Ivanovo, Tambov, Ryazan, Novosibirsk, Vladimir, Orenburg regions and other regions.
The cost of the proposed facilities varies from 1 to 150 million rubles, depending on the location, equipment, as well as the duration of the station and the availability of a franchise. For example, in Ufa, a network of 13 gas stations (gasoline/diesel fuel/LPG) was put up for sale for 350 million rubles.
Fuel problems in Russia began in mid-June after the attacks of the Ukrainian Armed Forces UAVs on Russian oil refineries. In a number of regions, disruptions with gasoline and diesel began to be recorded, as well as long queues formed at gas stations, in which Russians often had to stand for up to 10 hours. By the beginning of 2026, there were 27.7 thousand gas stations operating in the Russian Federation. Of these, up to 19.84 thousand are independent stations.
As the sellers told Izvestia, the reason for such decisions was the deterioration of the financial condition of the gas station owners, including debts. They expect to use the funds they receive to repay them, but many no longer plan to continue working in this business.
As Izvestia found out, gas stations from major Russian oil companies are also up for sale. For example, Gazprom's website lists gas stations in the Astrakhan, Rostov, Tambov and Nizhny Novgorod regions as non-core assets. Their owner is Gazprom Network of Gas Stations LLC. The price of the objects ranges from 940 thousand to 13.4 million rubles.
There are also ads for the sale of gas stations on the Lukoil website. Objects for sale in Tver, Tyumen, Chelyabinsk, Kaluga regions and Perm Krai. However, their cost is not specified. The Avito website also sells a gas station under the company's franchise in the city of Ivanovo, Ivanovo region, worth 51.5 million rubles.
The press service of Gazprom GNP Holding LLC, a subsidiary of which is Gazprom Network of Gas Stations, reported that gas stations located in these regions have been put up for sale since August 2022.
— This is part of the planned work of the company. Gazprom Network of Gas Stations LLC focuses on the development of the most efficient stations and is gradually decommissioning unprofitable facilities," the press service explained, while acknowledging that the facilities have not yet been sold.
The company clarified that the gas station in the Tambov region has been sold since August 2022, in the Nizhny Novgorod region — since November 2022, in the Astrakhan Region - since May 2026, in the Rostov region — since March 2026.
Izvestia sent a request to Lukoil with a request to comment on the decision to sell the gas station.
— Of course, private gas stations have serious problems, since the distribution of fuel for them is based on the residual principle. And this is not because of any malice, it's just that all large companies provide their gas stations first, and then large regional networks receive fuel," an industry source told Izvestia. — Smaller market participants are only the third on this list. But in some regions, these volumes of fuel simply do not exist or are available, but at very high uncompetitive prices.
Private gas stations still have options — either to sell the business or to suspend operations until the situation stabilizes, the source said.
— It is hardly possible to talk about a massive trend in relation to large oil companies. Rather, they get rid of non—core assets or facilities with poor logistics," said a market source.
Private gas station sales are confirmed by fuel market participants.
—Private gas stations buy petroleum products at a fairly high price, which makes it impossible to ensure the marginality of this business and set competitive prices with oil companies," Marat Murtazin, president of the St. Petersburg Oil Club Union (unites fuel market enterprises), told Izvestia.
According to him, almost 100% of private gas stations in Russia, which account for 60% of the total number of gas stations in the country, faced difficulties.
— Whether any of them will leave the market will depend on how long this situation lasts. Gas station owners often trade at a loss for several months a year, but then these losses are compensated," the industry representative said, noting that this is not the first and not the last crisis in the fuel market.
Anastasia Bunina, Deputy Director of the Gainful Fuel Company and market expert, agrees with this opinion.
— This situation has been going on for about a month since the wholesale price went up. Indeed, private gas stations have serious problems today. Moreover, if you pay attention to federal gas stations that belong to oil companies, then the price for diesel is 80 rubles, and at private gas stations it is 100 and higher, but this is not because they are so greedy," she explained to Izvestia.
According to her, the reason is that independent gas stations today have no other option but to purchase fuel on the St. Petersburg Stock Exchange or from traders whose prices are high.
"As a result, some private gas stations have found themselves in a position where their owners have virtually no other options but to sell the business or completely cease operations," Anastasia Bunina believes.
In her opinion, if the market situation does not stabilize in the next six months, federal companies will begin to actively buy out gas stations located in the most attractive locations.
The Russian Fuel Union declined to comment.
Have enough measures been taken to stabilize the fuel market
The State Duma Committee on Energy recognizes that the fuel situation is still difficult.
— Some of our oil refineries have gone for unscheduled and scheduled repairs. The government has made a number of decisions that should stabilize supplies to regions where there has been a shortage and public excitement," Igor Ananskikh, first deputy chairman of the committee, told Izvestia.
According to him, improvements are already noticeable, and the situation can be expected to improve in the near future. At the same time, he noted that the main task that still needs to be solved is to ensure reliable protection of the refinery from attacks.
— I am sure that the ban on fuel exports will be extended for now, as there are still problems with it in some regions. If things are a little better with diesel, then this cannot be said about gasoline," the parliamentarian explained.
Dmitry Gusev, Deputy Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Reliable Partner Association, believes that the fuel situation in Russia is slightly worse than last year, but not critical. According to him, gas stations may stop working for a while, but then resume it again.
At the same time, the government is currently implementing a set of measures aimed at increasing the security of the domestic market. Among them are temporary restrictions on the export of petroleum products, the adjustment of tax legislation and the improvement of exchange trading mechanisms, which should help stabilize the market.
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