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There are some horror stories about contaminated fuel being sold in some parts of Russia. The story goes that some petrol stations will buy cheap fuel from unlicensed sources, this fuel can have various additives and contaminants designed to increase the octane rating of poor quality fuel so that basic testing would not detect anything is wrong with it.
Another observation is that some fuel tanks and bowsers in some of the more remote petrol stations are so old that bits of water, dirt, rust, etc could have gotten into the tanks/hoses and can make their way into your own tank if you buy fuel there.
As we embarked on our trip across Russia we were somewhat concerned with the stories bouncing around the internet and wanted to get to the bottom of the issue as best we could to put our minds at ease that it was not going to be fuel quality that would leave us stranded on the side of the road in the back arse of Siberia.
Obviously there is no way of knowing the quality of the fuel you are buying without getting it tested. Testing is of course not practical for the average Trans-Russia driver and it wasn't practical for us. We decided to simply do what the Russians do relied on local knowledge of which petrol stations sell legitimate non-contaminated fuel.
Russian Petrol Variants
Petrol comes in 92, 95 & 98 octane, and in rural areas 80. Do not use 80 octane in a modern vehicle (anything after 1970 or perhaps even earlier) unless it is some oddball machine and the manufacturer specifically instructs it.
92 is regarded as perfectly acceptable for older vehicles. Our car is 12 years old and we started out using 92 then after a while started using 95 as the price difference per litre is usually only around 3 Rubles. It my just be petrol placebo but when using 95 or 98 I did think the car performed a bit better, particularly its response to hard acceleration.
I did not notice any difference in fuel economy, then again fuel is so cheap in Russia we did not record detailed notes of our fuel consumption along the way.
At the Pump
The system in Russia is that you pay for the fuel before you pump it into your vehicle. This is the way it is done all across the country. If you give too much cash you can get change, though sometimes the lady, if you get a gruff one, will give you that 'tourist' look.
Beware: if you pay with a card you cannot get change, you cannot even take other merchandise as change. We found this out the hard way somewhere between Vladivostok and Khabarovsk.
In the Petrol Station
Usually the fuel stations have basic driver groceries, this could be the barest necessities of water, energy drinks and chocolate or can be fully stocked grocery shops complete with roadside deli fare (hotdogs, burgers, ready made sandwiches, freshly ground coffee).
Some have toilets, though in general you are better going wild somewhere along the side of the road. As you get close to large cities, particularly the further west you get, some stations may have indoor toilets which are of acceptable standards.
Petrol Stations
Below are the 4 we used preferentially. On very rare occassions when there was no other option we did use other petrol stations but always chains, never any of the small independent ones. That may sound a bit harsh on small business but going by local knowledge we picked up from friends along the way the independent stations are the most likely to have dodgy fuel and thinking about it it makes sense. Chains are tied to one fuel source. Independents can buy fuel anywhere and a foolish or unscrupulous station owner may choose to buy the cheapest fuel possible on occasion, regardless of quality.
Russian Petrol Variants
Petrol comes in 92, 95 & 98 octane, and in rural areas 80. Do not use 80 octane in a modern vehicle (anything after 1970 or perhaps even earlier) unless it is some oddball machine and the manufacturer specifically instructs it.
92 is regarded as perfectly acceptable for older vehicles. Our car is 12 years old and we started out using 92 then after a while started using 95 as the price difference per litre is usually only around 3 Rubles. It my just be petrol placebo but when using 95 or 98 I did think the car performed a bit better, particularly its response to hard acceleration.
I did not notice any difference in fuel economy, then again fuel is so cheap in Russia we did not record detailed notes of our fuel consumption along the way.
At the Pump
The system in Russia is that you pay for the fuel before you pump it into your vehicle. This is the way it is done all across the country. If you give too much cash you can get change, though sometimes the lady, if you get a gruff one, will give you that 'tourist' look.
Beware: if you pay with a card you cannot get change, you cannot even take other merchandise as change. We found this out the hard way somewhere between Vladivostok and Khabarovsk.
In the Petrol Station
Usually the fuel stations have basic driver groceries, this could be the barest necessities of water, energy drinks and chocolate or can be fully stocked grocery shops complete with roadside deli fare (hotdogs, burgers, ready made sandwiches, freshly ground coffee).
Some have toilets, though in general you are better going wild somewhere along the side of the road. As you get close to large cities, particularly the further west you get, some stations may have indoor toilets which are of acceptable standards.
Petrol Stations
Below are the 4 we used preferentially. On very rare occassions when there was no other option we did use other petrol stations but always chains, never any of the small independent ones. That may sound a bit harsh on small business but going by local knowledge we picked up from friends along the way the independent stations are the most likely to have dodgy fuel and thinking about it it makes sense. Chains are tied to one fuel source. Independents can buy fuel anywhere and a foolish or unscrupulous station owner may choose to buy the cheapest fuel possible on occasion, regardless of quality.
Rosneft (yellow branding with an image of a minaret) the cream of the crop and the one petrol station that everyone along the way agreed sold good quality fuel. This is also the one fuel company with stations the whole way across the country. You could, with some difficulty, drive the whole way across Russia only using Rosneft fuel and many Russians do this.
Gazprom (blue and white branding), stations always in good condition and usually with hot food inside. International reputation to protect, I have no fear about the quality of their fuel.
Alliance (bluish green branding), this is a company in the Far East which we used regularly and also has a good reputation locally. There is not much else in most of the Far East.
Tatneft (red and green branding), the Tatarstan version of Rosneft - we used their fuel with no issues. Stay away from the really old/dirty looking stations though. Usually hot food in the new ones.
Fuel Cards
If you have access to a Russian address for receiving post you can order fuel cards for most of the big stations. You may be able to get one posted overseas or to a hotel in Russia if you do not have a permanent address.
As a private individual (non-business entity) with one of these cards you earn loyalty points which ca be redeemed against fuel once you've earned enough.
For Rosneft's loyalty programme you must earn 3,990 bonus points (this equates to 39,990 Rubles spent with Rosneft) before redeeming this amount for 20litres of fuel.
Rosneft and/or Gazprom are the only two fuel companies that are truly national but most branded fuel stations offer them so if for instance you plan on staying in Tatarstan for a prolonged period get a Tatneft card.
Quality of Diesel in Russia
We drove a petrol car so do not have direct experience of diesel quality across Russia. We could see it was just as available as petrol along the main highway across the country. In some more remote areas there were no diesel pumps at the stations we went to.
There are some references to poor quality/dirty diesel in parts of Russia online but I have not seen anyone with direct experience authoritatively say this is the case. For what it's worth we noticed the odd filthy looking diesel pump at some of the more remote fuel stations however diesel can be dirty stuff (not evaporating off like petrol) so I don't think this can reveal much about the quality of the fuel.
Fuel Cards
If you have access to a Russian address for receiving post you can order fuel cards for most of the big stations. You may be able to get one posted overseas or to a hotel in Russia if you do not have a permanent address.
As a private individual (non-business entity) with one of these cards you earn loyalty points which ca be redeemed against fuel once you've earned enough.
For Rosneft's loyalty programme you must earn 3,990 bonus points (this equates to 39,990 Rubles spent with Rosneft) before redeeming this amount for 20litres of fuel.
- Purchase of regular fuel rewarded with 1 bonus point per 10 rubles spent
- Purchase of premium fuels rewarded with 2 bonus points per 10 rubles spent
- Purchase of food, drinks, groceries inside Rosneft mini-market rewarded with 3 bonus points per 10 rubles spent
You can learn more about Rosneft's programme on their English language fuel card site here. There is further information on commercial fuel cards for foreign businesses available on their site as well. If you are a small business owner you may be able to link one of these cards to your business before your Russian adventure.
Rosneft and/or Gazprom are the only two fuel companies that are truly national but most branded fuel stations offer them so if for instance you plan on staying in Tatarstan for a prolonged period get a Tatneft card.
Quality of Diesel in Russia
We drove a petrol car so do not have direct experience of diesel quality across Russia. We could see it was just as available as petrol along the main highway across the country. In some more remote areas there were no diesel pumps at the stations we went to.
There are some references to poor quality/dirty diesel in parts of Russia online but I have not seen anyone with direct experience authoritatively say this is the case. For what it's worth we noticed the odd filthy looking diesel pump at some of the more remote fuel stations however diesel can be dirty stuff (not evaporating off like petrol) so I don't think this can reveal much about the quality of the fuel.
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