Oscillatory movements

FAS does not agree with the price formula for petroleum products proposed by the Ministry of Energy

Oil companies and relevant departments continue to search for a formula for “fair” pricing for petroleum products. The discussion between the companies, which insist on the possibility of a 20% fluctuation in the cost of petroleum products, and the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) has been dragging on for several months, but the parties are still far from a common solution. The Ministry of Energy recently presented its own version, also including the possibility of a 20% fluctuation in the formula. Yesterday, the head of the FAS, Igor Artemyev, criticized the idea of ​​the ministry. “We naturally respect the relevant ministry and their work, but we do not agree with this. A 20% fluctuation in the Ministry of Energy formula will not lead to a price reduction,” he said.

The oil industry agreed to develop a pricing formula after the multibillion-dollar fines that the FAS issued last year to Rosneft, Gazprom Neft, LUKOIL and TNK-BP for inflating the cost of petroleum products. However, companies are still challenging decisions on sanctions in the courts. Mr. Artemyev has repeatedly stated that it is necessary to develop a single formula as quickly as possible, but it is not possible to reach an agreement. Oil companies are presenting a united front, proposing to calculate the indicative price for all Russian refineries based on quotes from four exchanges - Singapore, North America, the Mediterranean and north-west Europe, with the possibility of fluctuations of 20%. FAS believes that the indicative price should be calculated only for the refinery in Kirishi (northwestern border of the country) and the refinery in Tuapse (southern border). Other factories, according to the service, should determine the price based only on these indicators. At the same time, the FAS opposes fluctuations in the cost of petroleum products.

The version of the Ministry of Energy is the latest, it appeared in mid-January. The agency proposes to determine its own price for each refinery based on the cost of petroleum products in the markets of the Mediterranean and north-west Europe, depending on which of them the region of supply from the plant is closer to. Also included in the calculation are transportation costs, the ruble/dollar exchange rate, duties, VAT and excise taxes. This takes into account the possibility of a 20% price fluctuation.

This is precisely what caused Mr. Artemyev’s dissatisfaction. According to him, this position coincides with the opinion of the companies, which the FAS is not satisfied with. “Oil companies refer to the export alternative, but it still turns out that the domestic price should be 15-20% lower. Then the Ministry of Energy appears and proposes its formula,” said Mr. Artemyev. According to Cortes news agency analyst Mikhail Turukalov, the Ministry of Energy’s proposal is in many ways similar to the oil industry’s option. “But the formula proposed by the ministry is too complicated. In addition, there is too much leeway for companies to determine the amount of transportation costs. And if there is a possibility of fluctuations of 20%, then it is unlikely that thanks to this formula it will be possible to reduce the cost of petroleum products,” says Mr. Turukalov. To reduce prices, the analyst believes, it is necessary to “exclude from the oil industry formula the 20 percent excess of the given world price.”

Mr. Artemyev hopes that the formula will be adopted in the first quarter. But oil workers do not yet see the end of the discussion. “Negotiations with the FAS have been going on for quite some time, but there is still no result. We hoped that we would be able to reach an agreement before the end of last year so that we could start this year under the new rules. But the conditions of the FAS do not suit us,” one of the oil companies told Vremya Novostei. An employee of another oil company believes that the disputes will continue until one of the higher officials supervising the industry expresses his opinion, which will become final.

Meanwhile, the volume of exchange trading in petroleum products, the speedy development of which the government so advocates, last week turned out to be a record. According to Cortez, 159.98 thousand tons of petroleum products were sold at the three largest commodity exchanges in the country during this period, which was the maximum figure for the entire period of their existence. According to Mr. Turukalov, trading in petroleum products on the exchange is developing faster and faster, but the record set is due to pent-up demand. “This result can be called intermediate. This year the share of exchange sales should increase significantly,” the analyst believes.

Kirill MELNIKOV