PetrolPlaza video review of AUTOCOMPLEX 2017 - Part 2

Once again PetrolPlaza was in Moscow to cover the 24th edition of the International AUTOCOMPLEX Exhibition and to bring you the latest information on the Russian fuels market. Watch our second part of the review in Russian with English subtitles.

Organized by ACS-EXPO and supported by the Moscow Government and the Russian Fuel Union, AUTOCOMPLEX 2017 brought together the Russian fuelling industry along with participants from neighbouring countries and international companies. The event took place November 1-3.

After suffering the effects of low oil prices and international sanctions, the Russian fuels market has stabilized with many at the show saying they expect new petrol stations to be built in the near future. Consolidation of the biggest brands – Lukoil (2,544 sites), Rosneft (2,400), Gazprom Neft (1,750) and Tatneft (650) – remains to be one of the clear market trends of the fuel sector.

Last March, however, Lukoil cited “unfavourable economic conditions” to explain the possibility of selling a third of its Russian filling stations.

An international player that seems to have noticed the recovery of the Russian economy is Royal Dutch Shell, which announced plans to push its downstream operations by doubling its number of petrol stations in the country. Its network currently compromises 227 sites.

“Hopefully the situation will change for the better in the future and the market will start growing again,” said Alexander Borisov, General Director at PSE Ltd.

As witnessed during the show, Russian retailers are starting to invest in alternatives fuels such as natural gas and electric vehicles. Boasting the largest reserves of natural gas in the world, Russia has identified CNG and LNG as viable alternatives to gasoline and diesel.

“Despite the major difficulties that the Russian economy is experiencing today, our exhibition is doing well. There is a trend towards growth and stabilization. From what visitors and exhibitors said, I assess the exhibition in very positive terms,” Mikhail Tsuladze, General Director at Autocomplex / ACS-EXPO Ltd, told PetrolPlaza.

The next edition of AUTOCOMPLEX will take place from October 30 to November 1, 2018 at the same exhibition centre in Moscow. “The next exhibition will be even more spectacular as it will be our 25th anniversary,” concluded Tsuladze.