The government promises radical measures to combat gray exports of petroleum products

Rumors about the introduction of a protective export duty on petroleum products and a number of statements by officials have cooled the situation in the fuel sector. The cost of petroleum products has been declining for the second day in a row, the main types have lost in price from 2 thousand to 6 thousand rubles. To further curb the rise in prices for petroleum products, the government is promising “radical measures” regarding gray exports in the coming days and is ready to take more serious steps if necessary. But the introduction of a duty of $250 per ton is currently hampered by the unresolved issue of compensation for oil refineries.

Quotes for all types of fuel at SPbMTSB, which actively grew the last few weeks have gone downhill sharply. According to the results of trading on the exchange on September 20, the cost of AI-92 gasoline in the European part of Russia fell by almost 4%, to 65.6 thousand rubles. per ton, the price of AI-95 grade dropped even more (by 5.06%, to 69.3 thousand rubles per ton). The day before, these types of fuel also showed negative dynamics. Diesel fuel fell in price by 2.1%, to 73.4 thousand rubles. per ton.

The main reason for such a sharp change in trend there were rumors about the possible introduction of a protective duty on the export of petroleum products of $250 per ton, as well as the likelihood of a complete ban on their supplies abroad. As First Deputy Head of the Ministry of Energy Pavel Sorokin explained in the State Duma on Tuesday, the introduction of a duty was one of the proposals that was made several weeks ago, but this cannot be done without resolving the issue of compensation for the refinery.

The deputy minister noted that one of the reasons for the rise in fuel prices in Russia, in addition to the devaluation of the ruble and the rise in oil prices, to which tax calculation formulas are tied, is the shortage of diesel fuel in the world in general and in Europe in particular.

The government considers illegal supplies abroad to be one of the factors for rising prices for petroleum products. Mr. Sorokin emphasized that in the coming days radical measures will be taken to combat gray exports, “when goods are bought by an unscrupulous participant on the domestic market and exported, because the difference between the domestic price and the export alternative is still very significant, it now exceeds 20 thousand roubles. per ton, which creates an incentive for unscrupulous market participants to export.” He explained that these proposals are already in the government. He also announced a number of systemic measures that will affect the cost of fuel in the domestic market. The government has been discussing the issue of limiting the number of fuel exporters since the summer. It is expected that the new special register will include only producers of petroleum products.

In turn, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, on the sidelines of the Tyumen Industrial and Energy Forum, noted that the reason for the rise in prices was the imbalance in the wholesale market. According to him, there is no shortage of fuel on the market, production is growing, but the main problem is that prices on the domestic market have increased due to the growth in global market conditions. Mr. Novak emphasized that the government’s actions are already leading to stabilization and balancing of the fuel sector, and “more radical decisions” that were discussed with the ministries will be considered quickly if necessary.

The Petromarket Investment Group is confident that “sooner or later the problem of high wholesale fuel prices will be solved, since the government is actively working on this and has all the necessary tools for this.” Kommersant’s sources in the market note that companies support the government’s fight against gray exports, but are afraid of inaccuracies in the upcoming legislative acts. At the same time, they doubt that new strict measures, such as export duties, will be applied to the market starting in October, including because “the state simply will not have time to prepare and approve all the documents.”

Olga Mordyushenko