Diesel in Kazakhstan
 

Hi all

I have just entered Kaz in a diesel UK registered Landcruiser. I am in Pavlodar and have been turned away from 4 filling stations apparently due to the absence of some sort of ration card. I finally got help from a local who took me to a place where they gave me diesel, but at the black market price ie 3 times the proper price. Anyone have any knowledge/experience of getting around this problem?

If this is going to happen elsewhere in Kazakhstan I need to rethink my travel plans.

Mark

update
 

For the sake of other overlanders who may find the information useful, here’s what happened afterwards.


The next day in Pavlodar, another Kazakh helped me. He was definitely aware of the voucher issue, but led me to a filling station that sold me diesel without vouchers at the regular price.

Subsequently, I have been refused diesel in Kurchatov (even while a truck filled up right in front of me), while I have been able to buy in the normal way in Semipalatinsk. I was refused again in Georgievkaya but got served normally 10 kms later. I have since been able to buy diesel normally all the way to Almaty.

I have learned more about the diesel problem from some other Kazakhs I have met in Almaty. It seems that, a few months ago, there was a spike in demand for diesel caused by the planting season, plus a drop in supply caused by Kazakh oil companies diverting their wares outside Kazakhstan for higher returns. This, I am told, did cause diesel to be rationed at quite a few places around Kazakhstan (but not Almaty - the price went from 60 to 80 Tenge/litre last month, though).

This ties in with what I read a few days ago:-

RIA Novosti - World - Kazakhstan bars petroleum product exports

Now the issue is being resolved as Kazakhstan's oil reserves are replenished. It seems that I merely caught the tail end of this problem when I arrived in Kazakhstan, but I wasn't to know that at the time.

Mark

Thanks for the update.

Glad to hear it is/was a 'seasonal' problem. We will be there around Oct, so hopefully no problems then...

Just to let everyone know there seems to be difficulty in getting diesel in Kyzl-Orda and in Chomatau (near Aktobe). This appeared to be a genuine shortage rather than the need for the dreaded ration voucher. In both cases, I eventually ended up getting diesel but it took about 6 attempts.