Russia is struggling with domestic oil supplies as tensions between the Kremlin and Russian oil companies begin to emerge, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday, citing people with knowledge of the matter.
According to the newspaper, the crisis between the government and firms mounted after higher fuel prices, especially in southern agricultural heartlands, led Moscow to ban diesel and gasoline exports this month. The government seems to have put more pressure on the oil companies to prioritize domestic supply without paying them for it, partly to help fight inflation.
Sources told the Wall Street Journal that Rosneft's chief operating officer, Marat Zagidullin, was fired. Also stepping down from their posts were chemical sales chiefs Nikita Pakulin and Andrey Dobryakov, as well as finance executive Alexander Polyakov.
