The problem of fuel quality has been very acute for Russian motorists for a long time. Fortunately, the situation is changing at a fast pace: the leading manufacturers understand that the stable proposed quality of the fuel is the key advantage in the competition for the customer’s trust.

For many years Rosneft, a leader in the automotive fuel market, has been successfully supplying products compliant with all required quality standards. This is not a simple task, it requires an integrated approach to the solution, and Rosneft’s comprehensive approach allows to guarantee the fuel quality at any filling station of the Company's network.

In accordance with current requirements, the Company refineries are implementing a large-scale modernization program, which implies a significant increase in processing depth and quality of produced petroleum products (all motor fuels will comply with the European ecological class "Euro-5"). Technology develops fast; therefore, it is important to modernize the production regularly, introducing cutting-edge processes. In addition, Rosneft runs a special fuel quality control program at all transportation stages, which allows us to ensure the stability of fuel parameters throughout its "life": from the factory to the car tank. One of the program principles is excluding the services of third-party contractors with unstable reputation. The company plants produce fuel from own oil; the products undergo multistage tests and receive a manufacturer's quality certificate - practically a start in life.

Along with careful control at the refinery, inspections are performed at all stages of fuel supply to the filling stations. The way from the factory tank to the filling station takes many kilometers of pipelines, transportation by railway and truck tanks, storage of fuel in tanks, and at each stage, Rosneft controls the process, monitors the technical condition of fuel storage tanks, transportation vehicles and the activity of the shipment operators.

Undoubtedly, the personnel experience is another essential factor. Timely preventive maintenance and updating all control and executive mechanisms practically exclude the probability of a malfunction or an error. Nevertheless, in order to be absolutely confident about the quality of the proposed fuel, Rosneft begins checking all product parameters at the production stage and continues testing them upon its completion. How exactly?

Upon producing a batch of fuel, the tank is "closed" for certification, that is, no operations with fuel are performed in this tank for a certain time (no filling in or dispatching from the tank). Only after a quality passport is issued, further operations with this batch of fuel are allowed. Fuel is shipped to railway tanks.

Before a tank takes off, the fuel is tested again: this time, against a shorter checklist of indicators, to see if the quality has changed during the shipment. Further on, the tanks are sent to the tank farm, a sort of transshipment point on the way to the gas station. Before the fuel enters the storage, its main characteristics are analyzed again. Why? In order to make sure that the fuel tank received the fuel of exactly the same quality as was loaded into the tank. That is, to exclude even a theoretic possibility of substituting high-quality fuel for a low-quality analog. Although in fact, in the Company’s experience, no cases of mere theft have been discovered. Nevertheless, control is mandatory. It is also required when the fuel is drained into the reservoirs at the tank farm. Since the Company does not use third-party storage facilities, it is certain that the tanks are properly prepared, i.e. at the time of the fuel loading into the tanks, no fuel of other brand or lower quality remains in the tanks. However, in order to completely eliminate any technological mix-ups, the fuel is then tested in the tanks.

The fuel from the tank is then to be delivered to the filling station, with more shipping, transportation, discharge. At each of these stages, both in the beginning and at the end, quality control is ensured. This is the only way to ensure that the fuel delivered to the customer's vehicle tank is of the quality the refinery has provided.

The quality control does not stop here. The Company has a metrology department controlling the work of all laboratories. After all, the equipment testing the fuel also needs to be checked, or rather, to verify the reliability of its data. Apart from the stationary laboratories, the Company has mobile facilities prepared to promptly analyze the product at any stage of the supply chain, for example, in case of a complain about the fuel quality at filling stations.

By the way, anyone can share their opinion about a filling station of the Rosneft network: hotline phone numbers are posted at all Company's gas stations. Each claim or comment is checked and investigated. Virtually, in the vast majority of cases, the expertise confirms full compliance of the fuel quality with the applicable standards.

And finally, Rosneft has a number of important contracts with most demanding customers, for example, with the Russian Ministry of Defense, the Russian EMERCOM ... In addition, the Company is a major player in the market for both automotive and other types of fuel. Rosneft fuels aircrafts at Sheremetyevo and Vnukovo, airports in Krasnodar and Sochi, Vladivostok and Yekaterinburg... Rosneft's international portfolio includes contracts for refueling airplanes of the largest airlines in Turkey, Greece, Mongolia and China. Such trust has been earned, among other things, by standing monitoring of fuel quality. This operation scheme allows to guarantee unchanged fuel characteristics along the way from the plant to each filling station. Given the growing popularity of Rosneft filling stations, car owners have already appreciated the advantage the Company is proud to offer.