Tajikistan Turns to Iran for Oil as Russian Fuel Supply Collapses
Tajikistan asked Iran to supply 2.55 million tons of oil and fuel as Russia’s export ban and refinery strikes choke off its main fuel source.
Central Asian nation Tajikistan has requested from Iran to import Iranian oil and petroleum products as the fuel crisis in Russia has choked supply from Tajikistan’s largest fuel supplier, the Transport Ministry of Tajikistan said this week. At a meeting with senior Iranian government officials in Tehran earlier this week, Tajikistan signed more than a dozen cooperation agreements with the Islamic Republic, the ministry said in a press release. The Central Asian country has also asked Iran to import from Iran 2.55 million tons of oil and fuels, including 2 million tons of crude oil, 150,000 tons of gasoline, 300,000 tons of diesel, and 100,000 tons of jet fuel, Tajikistan’s transport ministry said. “The global geopolitical situation has cut fuel imports to the Republic of Tajikistan.
More than 80% of Tajikistan’s fuel previously came from Russia,” Tajikistan’s Transport Minister, Azim Ibrohim, said in a statement. Set OilPrice.com as a preferred source in Google here . The country plans to import fuels from countries other than Russia, including from Iran, the official added.
Tajikistan’s idea to import fuels from Iran came hours before U.S. President Donald Trump late on Wednesday threatened “tremendous” economic consequences for countries extending a lifeline to Iran. However, Tajikistan and other Central Asian nations that have depended on Russian fuel supply have been reeling from the crisis in Russia as they have been unable to tap Russian diesel and gasoline. Russia has banned diesel, gasoline, and jet fuel exports, except for inter-governmental supply agreements in place, which are exempted from the ban. Due to frequent Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian refineries and other energy infrastructure, Russia has been suffering from gasoline and diesel shortages for more than three months.
Ukraine’s drone campaign to strike Russian refineries forced many large processing sites offline in the spring and summer. For several months, Ukraine has been targeting Russian oil refineries in nearly-daily drone attacks to force Putin into peace negotiations while crippling Russia’s fuel supply to the frontline and domestic gas stations. By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
