en.Wedoany.com Reported - Gazprom Neft has lifted fuel purchase restrictions at its gas stations in 13 Russian regions.

The company operates over 1,500 gas stations nationwide. In June this year, it imposed purchase limits on gasoline and diesel: gasoline was capped at 30 to 50 liters (8-13 gallons), and diesel at 60 to 100 liters (16-26 gallons). Last week, Russian media reported that restrictions had been lifted earlier in five southern regions and along the M-4 highway connecting Moscow to the Black Sea coast.

The 13 regions where unlimited gasoline sales have now been restored include Moscow, St. Petersburg, as well as the Republic of Tatarstan and the Omsk, Kemerovo, and Nizhny Novgorod regions. The company has also allowed customers to refill gasoline canisters at the pumps again—a practice that had been banned at major gas stations during the peak of this summer's fuel shortage to prevent hoarding.

This summer, dozens of Russian regions faced fuel shortages following months of Ukrainian drone attacks on refineries and fuel storage facilities.

Since the start of the year, the average price of gasoline in Russia has risen by 19%. A weekly increase pushed the national average price to 77.89 rubles per liter ($3.69 per gallon) on Monday, July 27.

While state-owned giants like Gazprom Neft gradually resume regular fuel sales, smaller independent gas stations face regulatory measures over allegations of price gouging. Russia's Federal Anti-Monopoly Service on Tuesday ordered owners of independent gas stations in the Krasnoyarsk, Bryansk, and Nizhny Novgorod regions, as well as in occupied Kherson, to lower prices. The agency stated that operators failing to adjust prices to "economically justified levels" would face formal antitrust investigations.

To continue stabilizing the domestic fuel market, the Russian government last week extended the ban on gasoline and diesel exports until the end of January next year. This follows large-scale drone attacks by Ukraine on refineries and fuel storage facilities.