Gasoline prices could rise 5%-7% - Lukoil chief
ASTRAKHAN. April 27 (Interfax) - The price of gasoline in Russia could rise from 5% to 7%, since prices do not reflect costs incurred by Lukoil , the company's President Vagit Alekperov said during a Russia Today television interview.
"We believe that the price might rise but not by much, 5%-7%, which could be a restrained, of course, the government lifts the excise tariff that was enacted since the first of January," he said.
Alekperov said that the increase in fuel price have been driven by the parallel between the sharp increase in prices for crude oil and the "growing excise burden per liter of gasoline, which reaches consumers." "We have several restraining factors today. We are in dialog with the government [on various issues], including compensation measures. One of the measures would be a decrease in excise taxes, which were introduced on the first of January. This wouldn't have allowed the possibility of an increase," he added.
"Today's price on the Russian market doesn't reflect the costs carried by companies: on production of gasoline, diesel fuel and supplying it to the consumer. All tariffs of natural monopoly are now indexed. Therefore, we believe that the price could go up, but not significantly," Alekperov said.
"Of course, we understand that society has the right to demand a fair price from us. But the issue is where the price is fair. Today our fuel is sold at 30%-40% less than in our neighbors, even in Belarus and Ukraine. I am not even commenting on the Baltic region," he said.