Major Moscow Region Gas Station Chain Closes as Russia Returns to Fuel Rationing

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Trassa, one of the largest gas station chains in the Moscow region, has shut down ahead of its seizure by the Russian government later this week, coming weeks after it was forced…

Trassa, one of the largest gas station chains in the Moscow region, has shut down ahead of its seizure by the Russian government later this week, coming weeks after it was forced to file for bankruptcy amid a nationwide fuel shortage.

EuroTrans, which operated 57 Trassa locations across the Moscow region, defaulted on its bond payments in September, prompting state-owned lender Sberbank to file a bankruptcy petition against the company.

That same month, several EuroTrans executives and senior police officers were arrested on accusations of stealing fuel designated for police vehicles.

Reports later surfaced that the Russian government could seize Trassa under President Vladimir Putin’s August decree allowing temporary state management over failure to defend critical infrastructure from drone attacks.

The Moscow region’s Energy Ministry confirmed with the Interfax news agency on Sunday that a seizure of Trassa’s assets was underway. Around 1,400 employees have been furloughed.

The closure of Trassa comes as oil major Rosneft begins to reintroduce rationing measures at its gas stations across the country amid renewed Ukrainian drone strikes against Russian refineries.

Industry sources told Reuters on Tuesday that the latest attacks have reduced Russia’s oil refining capacity by about a third. The affected plants include refineries in the cities of Ryazan and Yaroslavl, as well as the wider region around the Volga River.

In some regions, customers buying fuel at Rosneft stations within city limits are now allowed to fill up with only 30 liters (7.9 gallons) of gasoline, while those buying fuel at locations along highways are capped at 50 liters (13.2 liters). Rosneft locations in Moscow limit fuel purchases to 50 liters per vehicle.

Since the summer, drone strikes on Russian oil refineries have led to a shortage of fuel throughout the country, forcing the government to introduce emergency export bans for gasoline and diesel.

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