Court turns down Lukoil's cassation claim on Varandei terminal

MOSCOW, Jan 20 (PRIME) -- The Arbitration Court of the Moscow District upheld on Wednesday earlier court rulings that qualified the price of services of the Varandei terminal of Lukoil as not economically feasible.

The court turned down cassation claims by Lukoil and the Varandei terminal against a decision of the Moscow Arbitration Court and the Ninth Arbitration Court of Appeal.

In March 2019, the antitrust qualified actions of Lukoil’s subsidiary as abuse of its dominant position in the port of Varandei and as violation of the competition protection law, and ordered the violation to be remedied.

In August, the Moscow Arbitration Court voided the service’s decision but the Ninth Arbitration Court of Appeal turned down the decision in October and confirmed the lawfulness of the rulings of the Federal Antimonopoly Service.

In January, the Federal Antimonopoly Service published a document approving the maximum transshipment or storage price in the Sea Port of Varandei at 1,211 rubles per tonne without value-added tax (VAT). The service also listed the terminal as a natural monopoly among transport terminal and sea port service providers, subject to control by the Federal Antimonopoly Service.

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