In August 2026 Russia increased supplies of diesel fuel to the countries of Central Asia by 2.5 times compared with July. Shipments to Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia and Tajikistan exceeded 370 thousand tonnes against the backdrop of an existing ban on exports to countries further afield.
WHAT IS KNOWN
According to Reuters, citing traders, in August Russia increased supplies of diesel fuel to the countries of Central Asia.
- Kazakhstan — around 28 thousand tonnes against 0 tonnes in July;
- Mongolia — around 215 thousand tonnes against 124 thousand tonnes;
- Kyrgyzstan — more than 72 thousand tonnes against 4.4 thousand tonnes;
- Tajikistan — over 56 thousand tonnes against 16 thousand tonnes.
WHY SUPPLIES TO CENTRAL ASIA ROSE
The rise in supplies occurred after the restoration of operations at Russian refineries. Russia banned the export of diesel fuel, gas oils and marine fuel from 8 July, and then extended the restrictions until 30 September against the backdrop of a shortage of fuel on the domestic market.
According to industry sources, in the second half of July diesel fuel production was already exceeding domestic demand by approximately 10–15% and amounted to around 170 thousand tonnes per day.
In July, surplus fuel began to accumulate in tanks, which by that point had been significantly freed up during the fuel crisis. In August, free storage capacity became insufficient, so producers began looking for additional sales destinations.
WHY CENTRAL ASIA BECAME A DESTINATION FOR SURPLUSES
Traders explained the rise in supplies by the fact that the countries of Central Asia do not fall under Russian export restrictions to the same extent. Most states in the region have bilateral agreements with Russia on the supply of petroleum products.
Against this backdrop, Central Asia became one of the destinations for selling off the resulting surpluses of diesel fuel. At the same time, the data do not allow it to be asserted that the increase in supplies is connected exclusively with the need to unload Russian storage facilities: traders cite this factor as one of the explanations.
According to an industry source, supplies of diesel fuel to Russia's domestic market in August fell to 4.7 million tonnes against 5 million tonnes in July, while exports rose.
WHAT HAPPENED WITH SUPPLIES OVER EIGHT MONTHS
Despite the sharp rise in August, total supplies of Russian diesel fuel to Central Asia and Afghanistan in January–August 2026 turned out to be below last year's level.
Over eight months, Russia exported 2.5 million tonnes to these destinations against 2.6 million tonnes in the same period of 2025.
Mongolia remains the largest buyer. According to traders, in 2026 it accounts for around 50%of the total volume of Russian diesel fuel supplied to the countries in question.
CONTEXT
It was previously reported that the Polish oil company ORLEN concluded contracts for 16 additional cargoes of oil for its refineries in Poland, the Czech Republic and Lithuania. Among the suppliers were Kazakhstan, Norway, the United Kingdom, Algeria, Azerbaijan, as well as the countries of North and South America.
The additional volumes were needed against the backdrop of disruptions to supplies from Saudi Arabia.
