Astana, November 6. Kazakhstan has extended its ban on exports of petrol, diesel and several other oil products by another six months: it will apply from November 22, 2026 to May 22, 2027, according to the energy minister’s order of October 30, 2026.
The order is titled “On certain issues of exporting oil products from the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan”.
The ban also covers the member states of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU): Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. Under the order, petrol, diesel and certain other oil products may not be exported by road; lubricants and fuel in the standard tanks of vehicles are exempt, and such fuel may be taken out no more than once a day. Export by rail is banned, except for organised deliveries under contracts concluded earlier. Light distillates, aviation kerosene, gas oils, toluene, xylene and petroleum bitumen are listed separately among the banned products. The order comes into force on November 16, six days before the ban itself begins.
The ban is not new. The previous order ran from November 20, 2025 to May 20, 2026, and in April 2026 it became known that it would be extended to November 21, 2026, NUR.KZ wrote. The Ministry of Energy put a draft of the current order on the Open Legal Acts portal in July: Interfax reported this on July 7. The draft provided exemptions for humanitarian aid and for deliveries under government decisions, Bizmedia.kz noted; whether they remain in the signed order is not stated in the available reports.
The authorities have explained the need for the ban before: petrol and diesel in Kazakhstan are markedly cheaper than in neighbouring countries, which creates smuggling channels, and the domestic market remains the priority, TASS reported on July 3. For neighbours that depend on imported fuel the ban is felt: on July 2 Kyrgyzstan’s energy ministry sent official appeals to Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan asking for help in securing stable fuel supplies, and the republic still depends on imports for most of its fuels and lubricants, according to a statement by the Kyrgyz ministry.
What it means: The ban, which was due to expire on November 21, has been extended for another six months without a break. Besides petrol and diesel, the order names light distillates, kerosene, gas oils, toluene, xylene and petroleum bitumen; both road and rail exports are restricted, and the exemptions are listed separately.
Who benefits: According to the authorities, the domestic market: fuel stays in the country and smuggling channels close. It does not help fuel importers in neighbouring countries, notably Kyrgyzstan, which asked in July for help with supplies; whether exemptions are provided for them is not stated in the reports.
Background: The EAEU is a customs and economic union with no duties at its internal borders; the ban applies there too, so fuel cannot be exported even to countries with a common customs regime. Light distillates are oil fractions that boil at low temperatures and go into petrol and kerosene. Gas oil is a fraction between kerosene and fuel oil from which diesel is made. Toluene and xylene are aromatic hydrocarbons: solvents and feedstock for the chemical industry. Petroleum bitumen is a binder for road asphalt.
