Russia Does Fuels U-Turn

摘要

The Russian energy ministry is to lift the ban on domestic sales of Euro-2 standard gasoline and diesel, which should help end the gasoline shortages that hit several regions of the country in late April and early May. Euro-2 fuel sales were banned in January as Russian refiners switched to making Euro3 standard fuels, with quality set to improve to Euro-4 standards by 2012 and Euro-5 by 2015. But Prime Minister Vladimir Putin temporarily lifted the ban amid the shortages, allowing refiners to supply Euro-2 gasoline -normally earmarked for export -at home (IOD Apr.27,p7). The energy ministry is now set to make the move permanent and the schedule for switching to tougher standards may also be revised.