How antitrust cases will affect fuel prices in Russia

Territorial authorities of the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) began to initiate antimonopoly cases against companies engaged in the production and sale of fuel in the southern regions of Russia. The department’s press service reported this on September 29.

In the Belgorod region, a case was initiated against the company Oskolneftesnab (owns an oil depot and a network of gas stations), in the Rostov region – against Gazpromneft – Regional Sales, and in the Stavropol region – against Goodwill-A and Realgram (both are engaged in wholesale fuel sales). These companies sold motor fuel from oil depots at an inflated price, FAS believes.

Also in the Krasnodar region, the FAS department opened a case against the Ilsky Oil Refinery (ORP) and Slavyansk ECO (also engaged in oil refining) “on the grounds of concluding an anti-competitive agreement.”

In Dagestan, the service saw illegal coordination of economic activities in the actions of the Association of Gas Station Owners. “The president of the association coordinated the activities of its members – owners and tenants of gas stations by sending messages in the messenger. This led to a simultaneous increase in retail fuel prices,” the FAS explained. Due to suspicions of collusion between gas station owners, the head of Dagestan, Sergei Melikov, ordered the creation of a new fuel association in early September.

For participation in a cartel conspiracy, the FAS can fine companies up to 15% of revenue from sales of goods for the period when the violation was committed, explains Yuri Fedyukin, managing partner of the law firm Enterprise Legal Solutions. The service also issues an order obliging companies to eliminate the violation, he adds. The FAS decision can be appealed in court. But practice shows that the likelihood of winning such a claim, according to the lawyer, is small. Although in some cases companies manage to reduce the fine, Fedyukin notes.

The regulator added that it continues to analyze the current situation on the petroleum products market.

Vedomosti sent inquiries to the listed companies. It was not possible to contact representatives of Goodwill-A and the Dagestan Association of Gas Station Owners.

FAS announced the start of an inspection of the small wholesale segment of the fuel market on September 11. Then the service planned to study the economic feasibility of small-scale wholesale prices at oil depots and other components that affect prices for consumers, including agricultural producers. They complained about a shortage of diesel fuel and a serious increase in its prices during the harvesting campaign and before the start of the sowing season (Vedomosti wrote about this on September 22).

According to Petromarket, small wholesale prices for diesel increased by mid-September by 29% compared to the level before the start of the harvest (mid-July) and amounted to an average of 75,108 rubles/t.

Also, problems with fuel were observed at Russian gas stations, especially in the south of the country (Vedomosti wrote about this on September 12). The Ministry of Energy of Crimea then said that prices in the region had increased due to an increase in quotations on St. Petersburg International Trading Exchange, as well as due to an increase in delivery times for petroleum products three times to 45–58 days. The administration of the Volgograd region noted that there is no fuel shortage in the region, but due to repairs at the Astrakhan gas processing plant, gasoline was temporarily not supplied to the Gazprom gas station network.

The cost of fuel in small wholesale stores began to rise following the prices on St. Petersburg International Trading Exchange back in the summer, and in the fall the growth continued. The cost of AI-92 reached a historical maximum of 75,508 rubles/t on September 18, AI-95 gasoline – on September 7 (it rose in price to 76,876 rubles/t), diesel – on September 19, which exceeded the mark of 75,000 rubles/t. T.

The authorities discussed various options to combat the rise in prices, which occurred due to an increase in gray exports of petroleum products – supplies abroad of fuel that was purchased on the domestic market and for which a damper had already been paid from the budget. As a result, on September 21, the government introduced a temporary ban on the export of gasoline and diesel fuel (its duration has not been set), and on September 27, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak announced long-term measures that are planned to be taken after its lifting.

The government, in particular, is considering increasing the protective export duty on petroleum products by 2.5 times to 50,000 rubles/t, as well as a complete ban on the export of fuel to companies that do not produce it. In addition, the authorities plan to increase damper payments (compensation for refineries for supplying the domestic market with fuel at prices lower than export prices), which have been halved since September due to a reduction factor of 0.5 in the calculation formula.

President Vladimir Putin also proposed introducing quotas for the export of petroleum products, similar to the mechanism used for the export of fertilizers.

Exchange quotations for petroleum products began to decline, reacting to verbal interventions by the Ministry of Finance and the government, even before the introduction of a complete ban on the export of fuel. From September 18 to 25, 92 gasoline lost 21.4%, AI-95 – 23%, and diesel fuel fell in price by 19%. But on September 26, wholesale fuel prices began to rise again. On September 29, a ton of AI-92 increased in price by 4.5% to 57,933 rubles, AI-95 – by 4.4% to 60,648 rubles, diesel – by 2% and reached 62,847 rubles.

According to Finam Financial Group analyst Sergei Kaufman, FAS actions will have a “local effect” – they should help solve the problem of fuel shortages and rising prices in the south of the country. The key short-term measure to contain prices was a temporary ban on exports, he states. Taking long-term measures will stabilize prices at small wholesalers and independent gas stations, which may begin to moderately decline in the coming weeks, Kaufman said.

Prices in small wholesale, while export restrictions remain in place, will fall no earlier than November, a stock market expert predicts.BKS The world of investments” Evgeniy Mironyuk. Small wholesale and retail fuel prices are declining with a slight lag to stock exchange quotations due to irregular supplies of petroleum products from refineries during the plant repair season, he explains.