Authorities in Russia's Altai Republic have introduced a new restriction allowing vehicles to refuel only once every 24 hours, as regional officials attempt to ease fuel shortages, shorten queues at petrol stations and curb speculative fuel purchases.

According to the regional government, the new measure replaces the previous system in which daily fuel limits were reset at midnight. That arrangement enabled some motorists to receive two daily fuel allocations within a brief period by filling up shortly before and immediately after midnight.

Under the updated rules, the 24-hour interval is calculated separately for each vehicle, beginning from the time of its most recent refuelling. Regional Prime Minister Alexander Prokopyev said the revised system is designed to ensure fuel supplies are distributed more evenly across the republic.

"Regulating demand is necessary to ensure supplies for both essential services and the public," Prokopyev said.

The fuel sales restrictions will remain in force until September 1. The strictest limits apply in Gorno-Altaysk and the Mayminsky, Turochaksky, Chemalsky and Choysky districts, where motorists are permitted to buy no more than 30 litres of petrol or 50 litres of diesel per day. In the rest of the Altai Republic, the daily limits are set at 50 litres of petrol and 100 litres of diesel.

Motorists must present their vehicle registration certificate when purchasing fuel, while filling station operators record vehicle registration numbers in a central database to prevent additional refuelling within the 24-hour period.

The restrictions come as Russia continues to face fuel supply difficulties in parts of Siberia during the peak tourist season.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on July 25 that the fuel situation across Siberia, including the Altai Republic, remained challenging and that the federal government was working with regional authorities and energy companies to manage supplies.

Novak also said the government was considering additional fuel deliveries to the Altai Republic, Yakutia, Irkutsk Region, Zabaykalsky Krai and Altai Krai in an effort to stabilise the situation more quickly.