Drivers reported ongoing queues at gas stations in Krasnodar.

Queues have reappeared at some gas stations in Krasnodar, and some stations are out of gasoline, drivers reported, commenting on a Telegram post stating that authorities have stopped publishing reports on fuel availability.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot", on July 28, it became known that major gas station networks eased limits on fuel sales in southern Russia. "Rosneft" and "Bashneft" increased the gasoline sales limit to 50 liters, while "Gazprom" completely lifted restrictions at its gas stations in Astrakhan, Volgograd, and Rostov regions, as well as in Krasnodar and Stavropol territories. Analysts indicated that it is not advisable to completely lift limits until October, when the high demand season ends.

The post about the fuel situation in Krasnodar was published on August 4 in the Telegram channel "Krasnodar Teletype". The authors of the publication noted that the authorities have stopped reporting on the availability of gasoline at city gas stations.

"So, does it mean that the gasoline situation in the city has improved?" – it says in the publication.

This post in the Telegram channel "Krasnodar Teletype", which has nearly 127 thousand subscribers, had received 30 reactions and 12 comments by 10:45 AM MSK on August 5.

Some discussion participants reported that queues persist at some gas stations in Krasnodar, and some stations are closed. One driver counted about 30 cars at one of the stations.

"Well, it has improved so much that I was driving home – there’s a queue of about 30 cars at the "Lukoil" on Dzerzhinsky, and the station is closed!" – wrote Oilman.

"In the last two days, queues have appeared again. At "Lukoil", gasoline has completely disappeared, it’s the third day in the area," – reported Dmitry.

"Queues have started again," – noted Sergey Georgievich.

Other users also reported the absence of gasoline at several city gas stations. They doubted that the cessation of official reports indicates a normalization of the situation.

"As soon as the governor said that everything is fine, there’s again not gasoline everywhere, and where there is, there’s a queue," – wrote user AL.

"I didn’t see gasoline at many gas stations today," – reported Polina.

"I saw traffic at the gas station this morning," – wrote Viola Titorenko.

At the same time, one discussion participant pointed out an improvement in the situation at "Gazpromneft" gas stations. According to her, the network lifted restrictions on fuel dispensing, and queues became shorter.

"Gazpromneft lifted restrictions: you can fill up either in the tank or in a canister. The queue is a maximum of 20 minutes," – wrote Alena.

It should be noted that the fuel crisis in the southern regions of Russia has increased the demand for converting cars to gas, resulting in long queues at auto repair shops. Analysts pointed out that the long wait forces drivers to turn to "gray" installers, who do not guarantee the safety of the equipment.

Mass installation of gas equipment will not overcome the fuel crisis due to the lack of necessary infrastructure. Creating such infrastructure in a short time is impossible, noted the deputy director general of the National Energy Institute Alexander Frolov. "However, the current crisis is a good reason to remember the programs that already exist but are developing much slower than planned," – he said.

Mass installation of gas equipment will not become a long-term trend, believes the leading analyst of the National Energy Security Fund Igor Yushkov. In his assessment, after the gasoline problem is resolved and queues at gas stations disappear, the demand for car retrofitting will decrease.