As Ukraine targets Russia's refineries and fuel shortages worsen across the country, Moscow is now turning abroad to process its oil.Kyiv has knocked out dozens of oil refineries across Russia with drone strikes in recent months to disrupt Moscow's ability to finance and sustain its four-year full-scale war in Ukraine.Russia has already halted exports to curb its fuel crisis and introduced rationing measures. Now, Moscow has struck a deal with a small private refinery in Kazakhstan to use its facility.But experts say the move is unlikely to solve the severe fuel shortages in Russia, which has retaliated by targeting Ukraine's own energy facilities.
Kazakh Energy Minister Yerlan Akkenzhenov said on August 25 that the Kondensat refinery in western Kazakhstan would process Russian crude, with around 70 percent being sent back to Russia.A country of 143 million people, Russia consumes up to 120,000 metric tons of gasoline per day during the summer months, according to an estimate by Reuters. But the Kondensat refinery can only produce up to 200,000 metric tons of gasoline per year, meeting about 0.3 percent of Russia's daily gasoline demand.John Roberts, nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, a Washington-based think tank, said that with Russia facing severe fuel shortages, even the smallest additional supplies of gasoline and diesel could help.That includes on the front line, where the fuel shortages have put pressure on Russia's military operations."Possibly this may simply be a question of sheer desperation by Russia," he said. "The shortage that they have of fuel, of gasoline and diesel, is acute. It helps, but it doesn't solve the problem."Kondensat's Links To RussiaThe Kondensat refinery, which has operated well below capacity for years, has previous links to Russia.Corporate records link Kondensat to Tatneft, Russia's fifth-largest oil company and third-largest refiner, through Osprey Investment. Osprey is a shareholder in Kondensat's main shareholder, Birinshi Shina Kompaniyasy, and previously co-owned Mining Development Company with Turkish fuel distributor Aytemiz. Tatneft acquired Aytemiz in 2023.In 2024, Kondensat began processing Russian oil supplied through Tatneft's TANECO refinery in the Tatarstan region. Later that year, Kazakhstan and Russia agreed to allow Kondensat to export gasoline made from Russian oil to Russia. This arrangement was renewed in 2025.After the United Kingdom sanctioned Tatneft in 2025, the oil company transferred its entire stake in Aytemiz to TNCI Holding, an investment company controlled by the government of Russia's Tatarstan region.The change removed Tatneft's direct corporate link to Aytemiz and by extension the connection between Tatneft and Kondensat through Osprey's shared ownership interests.
