Minister: Govt to raise mandatory exchange sales of fuel in Sep

ST. PETERSBURG, Jul 28 (PRIME) -- The Energy Ministry and the Federal Antimonopoly Service have signed a joint order that raises the amount of fuel that Russian companies have to sell through the exchange by 1 percentage point in September, Minister Nikolai Shulginov told reporters on Friday on the sidelines of the Russia–Africa summit.

Russia’s exchange prices for gasoline hit several new records in late spring and at the beginning of summer because of maintenance works at the oil refineries. The service earlier sent a draft order to the government that raised the share of gasoline that Russian oil companies have to sell through the exchange to 13% from 12% and of diesel fuel to 9.5% from 8.5%.

“We have signed the order to increase of the exchange sale ratio by 1 percentage point starting from September. It is undergoing registration (in the Justice Ministry) right now,” Shulginov said.

Shulginov said that the idea of creating a list of gasoline exporters, which the ministry had been considering previously and which Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak had supported earlier will have no impact on fuel producers.

“Introduction of closed lists of gasoline exporters will have no impact on the real fuel producers. It will only hurt the grey exporters, the ones that are engaged in illegal activities, the ones who buy oil products through a damper at the internal market and sell their products on the external markets. Everyone who exports their goods will be able to continue selling them,” he said.

Right now, the Russian fuel filling stations are profitable, they are making a profit of several rubles per liter of fuel on average. The ministry will consider additional measures of support as soon as the margin of the fuel fulling stations dips into the red zone, he added.

Maxim Shaskolsky, head of the Federal Antimonopoly Service, said that the fuel market in Russia was not in a crisis and that the growth of fuel prices was only temporary. The authorities are taking all the necessary steps, and the situation should stabilize soon, he said.

(90.0225 rubles – U.S. $1)

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