Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, during a meeting with oil companies, instructed the Ministry of Energy to consider the feasibility of introducing a temporary ban on the export of gasoline from the third quarter of 2021, according to the press service of the government.
According to Novak, the current situation is influenced by the conjuncture of world markets, in particular, growing oil prices. “This puts pressure on the domestic market. At the same time, the prices for gas stations change within the framework of inflation, companies fulfill their obligations. At the same time, the situation has not yet been fully stabilized, ”the press service quotes the Deputy Prime Minister as saying.
In addition, the deputy prime minister instructed the ministry to study the need to conclude agreements with oil companies to set maximum wholesale prices for gasoline, “which provide the necessary marginality for the retail market.”
The Cabinet also instructed to increase the minimum standard for gasoline and diesel fuel supplied to the exchange by 1% in the third quarter of 2021. The Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) will have to develop a tool to control the execution of the order by the fuel market participants. The FAS, together with the St. Petersburg International Commodity and Raw Materials Exchange (SPIMEX), will also have to prepare proposals to increase the interval between the offering on the exchange for the sale of oil products and the purchase itself.
“Changes to the joint order of the departments” On the approval of the minimum amount of oil products sold on the exchange “should be submitted to the Government by July 15, 2021,” the government’s press service said.
At the end of May, the Russian Fuel Union (RTS) warned that the measures taken by the government to stabilize the gasoline market are not enough, and in this regard, there is a risk of a fuel shortage in the summer. The Union proposed a number of new measures to stabilize the situation: an increase in the total volume of fuel production in the Russian Federation, the introduction of a temporary restriction on the export of gasoline until October 1, and an increase in the standard for the minimum volume of fuel sales on the exchange to 15%.
On June 11, Novak instructed the fuel market participants to work out measures to stabilize the situation with gasoline prices. Measures to be worked out include a ban on the export of gasoline and maintaining the level of small wholesale and retail prices for fuel in the domestic market.
The FAS was instructed to analyze the situation with the current acquiring rates at gas stations.
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