Russia Is Swimming in Oil—Yet Fuel Is Reportedly Available at Just 28% of Its Gas Stations

Fuel availability at Russian gas stations has plunged sharply, with gasoline reportedly available at only 28.1% of stations nationwide as authorities open dozens of antitrust cases against oil companies and independent fuel operators, Russian newspaper Izvestia reported on August 18.

The figure, based on data from the GdeBENZ fuel-tracking app as of August 16, represents a dramatic decline in just one week. According to Izvestia, fuel had been available at 41% of Russian gas stations only seven days earlier.

The app showed declining supplies of gasoline and diesel across a broad swath of the country, including the Volgograd, Chelyabinsk, Orenburg, Voronezh, Samara, Penza, Saratov, Lipetsk, and Rostov regions, as well as Tatarstan.

The shortages come as Russia’s Federal Antimonopoly Service, or FAS, increases scrutiny of the domestic fuel market. Between the beginning of 2026 and August 17, regional offices of the agency opened 41 cases against oil companies and independent participants in the petroleum-products market, Izvestia reported, citing the regulator’s press service.

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The agency has also issued 68 warnings to businesses over signs of potential violations of antitrust law.

Among the companies cited were Altus in the Sakhalin region, Gazpromneft-Regional Sales in the Tyumen region, Egida in the Tver region, the KhTK gas-station network in Khakassia, and an unnamed fuel operator in the Russian-occupied part of Ukraine’s Kherson region.

Earlier, Russian authorities began issuing fines to residents who publicly complain about gasoline shortages, with courts in Volgograd and Perm penalizing people over attempts to draw attention to fuel supply problems.

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