OREANDA-NEWS Russian motorists are faced with a shortage of high-quality motor oils due to the lack of necessary additives (additives) for their production in the country. This was announced by the Vice-president of the National Automobile Union Anton Shaparin in a letter to the head of government Mikhail Mishustin. A copy of the document dated June 26 was reviewed by Izvestia. The Cabinet of Ministers confirmed receipt of the letter.

Before the sanctions were imposed, 60% of the demand for additives in Russia was provided by imports, and for some of the most complex additives — by more than 90%, the letter says. As a result, Russia is now forced to look for new ways to purchase them, but new logistics chains do not always work stably.

So, now there are not enough synthetic motor oils based on polyalphaolefins, esters and esters on the market. The problem is particularly acute for drivers of heavy trucks, the document states. It is becoming increasingly difficult for them to find familiar and high-quality imported oils, sometimes they are not in the assortment of specialized stores, sometimes a fake is sold, Anton Shaparin noted. It is problematic, for example, the purchase of Shell, ExxonMobil, Ford, etc. brands, he added. As the media wrote, against the background of the strengthening of Western anti-Russian sanctions in 2022, the world's leading brands producing lubricants left the Russian market.