“We found abuse.” FAS demands that prices at gas stations be reduced FAS demands that gas stations reduce prices “to an economically justified level” 10/05/2023, 16:04

Maxim Shaskolsky, head of Russia’s Federal Anti-Monopoly Service (FAS), told reporters that major oil companies and independent gas stations should reduce fuel prices. TASS.

Answering the question of what the price should be, Shaskolsky said, “This should be an economically justified level.”

According to the FAS president, consumers in the domestic market, including agricultural producers, need to have enough fuel.

“Measures have now been taken that have led to lower prices in all segments of the motor fuel market. This allows you to purchase it for future use at good prices,” added chairman Shaskolsky.

However, according to the FAS president, measures to regulate fuel prices should not be overdone.

“Companies are not in an easy situation. We need to take into account the situation and the need to invest, develop, maintain production, keep facilities at full capacity,” Shaskolsky said.

The FAS chairman added that oil refinery volumes should not be reduced in Russia due to regulatory measures. According to Shaskolsky, the service currently checks companies in the middle wholesale segment of the fuel market, and employees also register detected violations.

“So far we have found abuses in individual companies, these are being investigated; these are traders and oil depots,” he added.

According to the head of the FAS, the institution is working on proposals for the possibility of regulating the fuel market using programs used to regulate fertilizer exports.

Strict regulatory measures

On September 21, the Russian government imposed a temporary restriction on gasoline and diesel exports to stabilize the domestic market. According to Pavel Sorokin, First Deputy Head of the Ministry of Energy, its duration depends on the saturation of the market and the results of this measure.

Before the restriction was introduced, the FAS sent a letter to companies demanding that they reduce fuel prices at gas stations. At the same time, the ministry emphasized that failure to comply with this measure will be considered a sign of violation of anti-monopoly legislation.

The restrictions were adjusted on September 25. Thus, gasoline and diesel were allowed to be exported to South Ossetia and Abkhazia. It was also allowed to export fuel within the framework of intergovernmental agreements, including to the countries of the Eurasian Economic Union, and to supply gasoline to military units located outside the borders of the Russian Federation. Individuals were also allowed to carry fuel for personal use.

On September 27, Russian President Vladimir Putin meeting with cabinet. He called on the government to work more closely with fuel companies due to rising gasoline prices.

“It is clear that the company’s economics are also important to us; It is the goose that lays the golden eggs, we must treat them carefully, everything is clear. But I still ask you to react more quickly to current events,” Putin said.

The Russian President said that some citizens had to travel to other regions to buy gasoline at low prices. According to him, in some regions of the Russian Federation the price of fuel is not only falling, but even increasing in accordance with the measures taken. As an example, St. Petersburg, where in September the price of a liter of AI-92 gasoline increased by 8 rubles. He pointed to St. Petersburg. After the ban on the export of gasoline and diesel fuel, prices have changed, but the price of diesel in retail is still increasing: on September 21, it cost 49.7 rubles, and on September 26 it was already 51.6 rubles.

“Precautions have been taken, but prices are increasing! What happens on these other connections is of little interest to the consumer. “The consumer needs results,” Putin emphasized.

At the meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak proposed banning the export of oil products purchased from Russia. In his opinion, such a measure would limit the possibility of speculative export supply.

Novak believes that the increase in prices is associated with the increase in global oil prices, the ruble exchange rate and the decrease in discounts on Russian Ural oil exports. He claims that gasoline prices have increased by 15 percent and diesel prices by 30 percent in the last few months.

At the meeting, Head of the Ministry of Finance Anton Siluanov proposed allocating additional funds to the regions in order to control prices. He advocates the systems approach:

“It is possible to purchase a certain amount of fuel for the needs of the state, especially the regions.”

On September 28, Novak said that the situation in the fuel market should be changed to “bring prices in small wholesales to the level of large wholesale prices, taking into account transportation costs.”