Future ban on fuel exports from Russia to apply only to entities other than its producers - Novak

MOSCOW. Oct 2 (Interfax) - A future ban on fuel exports from Russia would apply only to entities other than producers of petroleum products, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said in an interview for the Moscow. Kremlin. Putin TV program.

Following a voiceover outlining future measures planned by the government to stabilize the Russian fuel market, the program's author, Pavel Zarubin, cited Novak as mentioning "prohibitive measures concerning exports of [petroleum] products by entities other than producers of petroleum products. That is, so-called profiteers, secondhand dealers. And this is also a noteworthy fact, because it's very profitable today to buy at an exchange and then resell, making money on that without delivering a product to the domestic market."

As reported, following a lengthy period of growing wholesale prices for petroleum products and ensuing growth in retail prices, the Russian government resorted to a radical measure by banning exports of gasoline and diesel fuel from Russia starting September 21. The ban is applicable to all companies except for those exporting fuel to the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) countries according to indicative balances or protocols stipulated in intergovernmental agreements. This has prompted fuel prices on the exchange to decline last week; in particular that for AI-95 went down by 21.3%, AI-92 by 19.8%, and diesel fuel by 17.9%.

Speaking at a conference hosted by President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, Novak said that, to create economic incentives for petroleum products to be supplied to the domestic market, the government was proposing a number of additional systemic measures, including the adjustment of the damper parameters, which effectively implies increasing the coefficient that was lowered starting on September 1, the limitation of so-called gray exports by increasing the protective duty for resellers that are not producers of petroleum products from 20,000 to 50,000 rubles per tonne, and a complete ban on exports of any petroleum products purchased on the domestic market rather than produced.