The government has proposed new measures to combat gray fuel exports

The government has generally decided on measures to combat the gray export of motor fuel, which are designed to stop the rise in prices at gas stations, which have already doubled inflation. According to Rosstat, from the beginning of the year to August, the cost of gasoline at gas stations increased by 7.4%, diesel – by 4.7%, with inflation of 3.7%.

The measures already taken and future restrictions were announced on September 27 by Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, who oversees the fuel and energy complex, at a government meeting with President Vladimir Putin.

“Over the last week, from the 21st [когда было принято постановление об ограничении экспорта нефтепродуктов]They [цены] decreased by an average of 20% for motor gasoline and 16% for diesel fuel,” Novak reported. According to him, the Cabinet expects further stabilization of the situation with prices for gasoline and diesel fuel on the wholesale fuel market. In order to ensure long-term balancing of the domestic market, as well as to create economic incentives for the supply of petroleum products to the domestic market, the government proposed a number of additional systemic measures.

The main measures that the Cabinet of Ministers is currently working on are an increase in the export duty from 20,000 to 50,000 rubles/t for fuel resellers or a complete ban on the export of fuel purchased on the domestic market (this measure, in fact, is already in effect), an adjustment damper payments to refineries from the budget to “compensate for the difference with exports.” In addition, according to Novak, the volume of supplies to the domestic diesel fuel market for September – November for autumn field work has been determined: 13.4 million barrels.

Novak said during the meeting that it is proposed to increase the coefficient in the formula for calculating the damper (a budget payment to refineries designed to compensate oil workers for the difference between the higher export price and the price on the domestic market). The damper was reduced from September 1st. Increasing the coefficient and damper payments will make it possible to compensate for the difference between the export alternative and exchange prices and increase the efficiency of supplies to the domestic market.

According to Novak, it is necessary to prevent speculators from “washing out fuel from the domestic market”: “This concerns, first of all, the increase in protective duties for those resellers who are not producers of petroleum products, but buy them for export. We will introduce a protective duty and increase it from 20,000 to 50,000 rubles.”

Novak also proposed to monitor, together with the FAS, the levels of markup on petroleum products at gas stations: if stock prices fall, prices should also decrease there. He noted that a decision on these measures will be made soon, which will have a long-term impact on the domestic market.