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- Fill the tank: independent gas stations have started earning up to 7 rubles per liter on gasoline
Fill the tank: independent gas stations have started earning up to 7 rubles per liter on gasoline
Independent gas stations now earn 3-7 rubles from each liter of gasoline, whereas a year ago the sale of fuel was unprofitable for them. From June to September of this year, the margin on AI-95 increased by 29.5%, and on diesel — by 57.3% due to higher retail prices at gas stations, "OMT Consult" calculated. At the same time, the resulting margin covers the cost of fuel purchase and logistics, experts say. Despite the high exchange value, independent gas stations set margins against the background of continued demand. According to Russiabase, the cost of a liter of AI-95 in Moscow varies significantly and in some cases reaches 140 rubles. What affects the profitability of such gas stations and what problems they face is in the "Izvestia" material.
How has the profitability of gas stations in Russia changed?
From June to September of this year, fuel margins at Russian gas stations increased, but the dynamics for different types of fuel was uneven. According to the analytical company "OMT Consult", this indicator for AI-95 gasoline increased by 29.5% — now gas stations earn about 6.89 rubles per liter. For AI-92 in July, it reached 7.82 rubles per liter, but by September it had dropped to 3.43 rubles. Diesel showed the most significant growth — by 57.3%, to 6.12 rubles per liter in September. Marginality was calculated taking into account the exchange wholesale prices and the cost of fuel under direct contracts and more reflects the situation at independent gas stations, the company explained.
At the same time, the profitability of gas stations was significantly lower a year earlier. Since June 2025, the margin of all types of gasoline has been decreasing, and by September it had become negative: the sale of one liter brought the gas station a loss of 2.14 rubles. At the same time, diesel remained profitable — its sales provided 6.68 rubles per liter.
As Dmitry Gusev, deputy chairman of the Supervisory Board of the "Reliable Partner" association, noted, the fuel business is seasonal, so in summer the marginality from the sale of fuel usually decreases. Sergey Tereshkin, CEO of Open Oil Market, explained that during periods of high profitability, gas station owners usually accumulate resources, which they then spend in the summer months when profitability decreases. In large cities and on federal highways, the share of fuel in the revenue structure of gas stations is about 85%, and in the regions — almost 90%. The non-fuel segment, including cafes and shops, accounts for 10-15%, the expert said.
Most gas station networks that are not owned by oil companies purchase fuel on the stock exchange or under direct small wholesale contracts. According to Sergey Tereshkin, the decrease in margins in the summer is usually associated with an increase in wholesale prices. So, in 2024, the average exchange price of AI-92 gasoline increased by 27% from January to August, and by 39% in 2025. This year, quotations also increased: in the summer, the cost of AI-92 on the stock exchange reached 73 thousand rubles per ton.
At the same time, as explained in "OMT Consult", in June-July of this year, gas stations quickly transferred the increase in wholesale prices to retail, especially independent chains. During the month, the cost of AI-95 at the gas station increased by 6.6 rubles, AI-92 — by 7.4 rubles, diesel — by almost 7 rubles. The retail value at this stage grew faster than the cost of the fuel already purchased. As a result, gasoline margins increased dramatically in July.
In the same month, the government lowered the standard for gasoline sales on the St. Petersburg Stock Exchange to 10% of production, including supplies to agricultural producers, the northern regions, construction companies and Russian Railways. A similar reduction in exchange sales was planned for diesel fuel.
Against the background of a decrease in trading volumes, stock quotes no longer fully reflect the actual cost of available fuel. Delivery times have become less predictable due to physical shortages at refineries, and independent gas stations have switched to purchasing fuel at high wholesale prices. This led to lower margins in August and September. At the same time, according to "OMT Consult" calculations, the indicator still remained higher than last year's level.
Now, according to the Russiabase resource, the cost of AI-95 gasoline at gas stations of independent companies in Moscow varies significantly and in some cases reaches 140 rubles per liter. At gas stations of vertically integrated oil companies, a liter of AI-95 costs about 75 rubles, but the price also depends on the brand and location of the gas station.
"The "Oil Club of St. Petersburg" Union President Marat Murtazin noted that the marginality of independent gas stations is actually being "eaten up" by logistics and maintenance costs. In particular, fuel delivery to the Northern Capital is now often carried out from Surgut due to shortages at nearby refineries, which significantly increases transportation costs. According to him, despite the high retail prices, the fuel margin is now about 5%, whereas to make enough profit it should be at the level of 12-13%.
Due to the high costs of procurement and logistics, many independent gas stations now practically do not make a profit, Marat Murtazin believes. The situation is similar at VINK gas stations, but large oil companies have a greater margin of safety due to revenues from oil production and refining, the expert added.
How much has fuel become more expensive
Since about the beginning of summer, a number of Russian regions have been experiencing problems with fuel availability at gas stations. Some of the refineries are undergoing unscheduled repairs amid the attacks by the Ukrainian Armed Forces. At the end of July, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak announced a partial stabilization of the situation, but on August 19 he admitted that the second stage of the tense market situation had begun. On August 21, he instructed to review the repair schedules of Russian refineries. As President Vladimir Putin stated in early September, Russia has only 10% of the damaged refineries left to rebuild.
According to Rosstat, from January to August 2026, gasoline prices increased by 17%, and diesel prices by 15%. On average in Russia on September 14, a liter of gasoline cost 78.51 rubles, diesel — 88.05 rubles.
Over the past few months, the authorities have taken a number of measures to stabilize the market. There is a total ban on gasoline exports from Russia until the end of January 2027, and on diesel exports until the end of September. The damper mechanism has also been adjusted to support oil companies. In addition, in July, Russia began to increase fuel imports from other countries, and from September 1 to June 2027, gas stations were temporarily allowed to sell fuel of reduced environmental classes — Euro-2, Euro-3 and Euro-4.
In addition, regional operators have been appointed in regions where there are no gas stations for vertically integrated companies. Through them, WINCS directly supply fuel to independent networks under the control of the authorities. The Federal Antimonopoly Service, in turn, has strengthened control over unjustified price increases.
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