Russian regulator to ask oil cos for data on gasoline, diesel price changes in wholesale, small-scale wholesale

MOSCOW. Jan 25 (Interfax) - The Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) will ask vertically integrated oil companies for data on the difference in price changes for gasoline and diesel fuel in the wholesale and small-scale wholesale segments of the market, the Russian regulator said in a statement.

"The FAS Exchange Committee decided to ask vertically integrated oil companies for data on the difference in the dynamic of prices for gasoline and diesel in the wholesale and small-scale wholesale segment. The wholesale price of oil products decreased significantly in December 2023. However, monitoring shows that this was not fully reflected in the small-scale wholesale segment. The service will soon send information requests to companies on the need to provide the dynamic of price changes from September 2023 to the present," the regulator said.

The main buyers in the small-scale wholesale segment are independent filling stations, industrial enterprises, farmers, transport and construction companies and so on.

Exchange prices for gasoline in Russia have been climbing since January 10, when the first reports emerged that one of the units at Lukoil's Norsi oil refinery in Nizhny Novgorod was down for repairs. The company only confirmed this on January 12, without specifying what unit and how long it would be down.

Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak held a meeting on the situation on the domestic oil products market on January 19. Oil companies said at the meeting that they plan to increase gasoline and diesel production in 2024 and optimize the duration and schedules of oil refinery maintenance. Novak told companies to continue to control fuel prices at the pump.