The Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation may impose a temporary ban on fuel exports from the country. The Ministry informed socialbites.ca about this issue, emphasizing that certain steps have already been taken and various scenarios are being studied to alleviate the crisis situation that has emerged in the fuel market.
“The Ministry of Energy and Russian Railways took special control over the rhythm of delivery of oil products in the southern and eastern directions. The Ministry of Energy continues to monitor the situation in the domestic motor fuels market on a daily basis and take the necessary operational measures.
“The government of the Russian Federation is working on proposals on long-term measures regarding export restrictions, tax burden and priority of movement of oil cargoes.”
— The press service of the Ministry of Energy told the correspondent of socialbites.ca.
As Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak reported, active work is being carried out with companies to ensure the exchange in the required volumes, and steps are being taken to ban “gray” exports. According to Rosstat,
The average fuel price at gas stations in Russia increased by almost 8% in the eight months of this year (see infographic for more details).
Alina Dzhus/socialbites.ca
The situation is similar with wholesale offers – St. According to data from the St. Petersburg International Commodity and Raw Materials Exchange (SPIMEX), they break records almost every day.
There is no consensus even in the government regarding the fuel situation. So, the other day the head of the Ministry of Agriculture Dmitry Patrushev stated About the risk of stopping the harvest and planting of winter crops due to a shortage of diesel fuel. The minister also proposed a temporary ban on the export of petroleum products from Russia. Farm representatives make much harsher statements regarding their assessment of the situation.
“Finding the words is already difficult. In the last three weeks, the price of fuel has exceeded 100 rubles per kilogram, we buy it in kilograms, not in liters. “In mid-August, the most expensive price was 65-67 rubles per kg, now it is 100. But there is no fuel even for this money,” he said. guide “Novye Izvestia” comment by Sergei Kolesnikov, chairman of the Unions of Peasant (Farm) Farms and Agricultural Cooperatives of the Stavropol Territory of Russia.
The Russian Ministry of Energy assures that there are no problems with fuel shortages.
“There is no fuel shortage in the domestic market, accumulated diesel reserves reach almost 3 million tons, which is enough to meet the needs of the domestic market. The Ministry of Energy is carrying out multifaceted studies together with its relevant units.” In a statement to socialbites.ca, the press service of the Ministry of Energy said that it was working on a format aimed at reducing wholesale prices.
It’s not the oil workers’ fault
According to statistics from Pavel Bazhenov, head of the Independent Fuel Association (NTS), wholesale fuel prices have increased by more than 60% since the beginning of the year, and retail prices have increased by about 10%. Oil companies keep prices at inflation levels, but say all other market participants (60% of the refueling infrastructure is owned by independent operators) are forced to adjust prices according to oil companies’ prices.
“I was surprised that we reacted quite calmly to the fact that the simplest cars began to cost as much as a one-room apartment, and it was a tragedy that gasoline became a ruble more expensive,” Bazhenov said. In a conversation with the correspondent of socialbites.ca.
If there is no revision in the regulatory system, the increase in retail gasoline prices at the end of the year will be slightly above official inflation data,
the interlocutor guesses. Regulators are hostage to a situation where, on the one hand, it is necessary to prevent retail prices from rising above inflation, and on the other hand, they cannot put too much pressure on the oil industry, as it is key to replenishing the country’s budget. , points out the president of the fuel union.
Officially, a damper mechanism was supposed to control fuel prices within the Russian Federation; In this way, oil companies are compensated for a portion of the difference between the export price of the fuel and the benchmark domestic price. This allows us to reduce the cost of fuel in the domestic market at high export prices of oil.
However, the halving of depreciation payments in September led, among other things, to an increase in gasoline and diesel prices.
Bazhenov says. According to him, the tendency towards the complete elimination of this mechanism is obvious.
Sergei Kondratyev from the Institute explains that in addition to the decrease in shock absorber payments, the increase in fuel prices and local fuel shortages are affected by exchange rate differences, high foreign fuel prices, as well as rather high demand in foreign markets and within the country. Energy and Finance.
For the past month, authorities have been trying to develop a way to ease tensions in the fuel market.
Kondratyev believes that the government will eventually limit both legal and “gray” exports of oil products.
According to him, refineries and major oil companies now ship shipments for delivery to the domestic market, and traders direct these flows to exports.
“The government may agree to introduce stricter export restrictions and quotas to ensure saturation of domestic demand.
The Ministry of Energy and the Ministry of Finance have the internal determination to try to stabilize the situation. We also left behind a period in which fuel consumption was high. Demand drops in September; October and November will be easier for the Russian market. “Seasonality will help stabilize the market,” he thinks.
The price of exported fuel is now significantly higher for Russian consumers than the cost of fuel sold on the exchange. The source explained that if gasoline is sold at export prices, we will see the price in the wholesale segment at 90 thousand rubles per ton (1.4 times higher than now).
Oil workers are guilty
Anton Shaparin, vice president of the National Automobile Association (NAU), says gasoline prices are rising because of the loss of the state’s tool of control over oil workers.
“Previously, gasoline on the domestic market was also cheaper, most often the difference was partially covered by the tipper, that is, oil workers received money from the budget. But now even this does not work: oil workers received the maximum payment for the shock absorber – 185 billion rubles, but at the same time prices are growing rapidly and there is no reason to expect that anything will change in the near future,” he says.
He believes that simply limiting the flow of “gray” fuel will not have a strong impact on the situation, since the quantities exported from the country in this way are small.
Saying that the fuel situation creates national security problems, Shaparin cites as an example the words of Minister of Agriculture Dmitry Patrushev that the end of the harvest campaign and the winter crop planting campaign are under threat. The US vice president warned that this is a fundamental problem and could in the future lead to farmers losing hundreds of billions of rubles next year.
“The problem has now gone beyond the government level to the presidential level; We hope for the president’s reaction.
This entertainment must be stopped, it turns the wheel of inflation, because the increase in transportation and energy costs in the price of any product in the Russian Federation reduces the disposable income of the population,” Shaparin said.
The expert says that statements in the media that gas stations operate at a loss are a myth. A significant part of the gas stations are owned by vertically integrated companies, where all expenses and losses of the retail segment can be covered by profits from production. The human rights activist believes that oil workers have shown record profits in recent years and are doing very well.
Source: Gazeta
Anika Rood is an author at “Social Bites”. She is an automobile enthusiast who writes about the latest developments and news in the automobile industry. With a deep understanding of the latest technologies and a passion for writing, Anika provides insightful and engaging articles that keep her readers informed and up-to-date on the latest happenings in the world of automobiles.