Fuel crisis in Russia
"Hot fuel crisis spread to many regions of Russia. In St. Petersburg, motor gasoline went up last week by 12%. It is noted shortage of diesel fuel and gasoline A-92. About 20% of petrol stations of the Northern capital lack of gasoline. Remains tense situation in the Vladimir region and Novosibirsk. The deficit for all makes of fuel is also recorded in Kursk, Tula, Samara and Tambov regions. In Moscow, the price of gasoline for the week rose by an average of 5%. " So now the media have described the gasoline crisis in Russia in autumn 2000. Since then has been more than a decade, but no fundamental changes in production and marketing of fuel has not happened. Competitive fuel market in the country and is not created. Wholesale and retail sales of petroleum products are still controlled by big monopolies that have long been divided between all the regional markets. These monopolists can make a country an artificial shortage of gasoline in concert to raise it price or drive out unwanted marketing network vendors. That is what is happening today in the Altai Territory and some other regions of the country.
"On Monday in Biisk motorists idled in line at the gas station for 1,5 hours" - said the head of the local representation Federation Viktor Klepikov car owners. Interfax reported, disruption of gasoline in the Altai region observed on 23 April, with the gas station owners allege that they have limited the sale of wholesale suppliers - Rosneft-Altainefteproduct and Gazpromneft-Altai.
Is a lack of fuel in energoizbytochnoy country which annually exports of oil as much as she consumes? Is it possible shortage in the country that exports of diesel fuel almost as much as she consumes and produces gasoline by nearly 10% more than the entire domestic needs? The answer is obvious: no objective reasons for the shortage of fuel in our country is not and can not be. But you can create an artificial shortage - even in the apparent abundance of oil and petroleum products. However, for this government will give the market at the mercy of monopolists, who are themselves already, and will organize and interruptions of supply. In this oil, of course, will lead a completely plausible explanation constituted by the same deficiency: the growth of world prices and high taxes to increase the fleet and the improper organization of exchange trading.
"If the big players - such as Rosneft, Gazprom Neft, and others - reduce the retail price by 5 rubles, with bulk purchase only the cost of gasoline falls by 1-2 rubles. Because of this, small companies with such parameters go into the minus, but there is a deficiency in the market "- says the president of the Altai Fuel Union Yuri Matveiko. The head of the Federal Antimonopoly (FAS) Igor Artemyev, the service is sure that the behavior of oil companies have violated antitrust laws. According to FAS, vertically integrated oil companies create a deficit by limiting the release of petroleum products.
Gasoline prices in Russia have become not an economic but a political issue. Including due to manual control prices, which is practiced by the Russian authorities. In early February, Vladimir Putin demanded from suppliers to cut prices of diesel fuel. Later, oil companies have recommended to make cheaper and gasoline - because on the eve of the election high fuel prices could hit for power is stronger than any opposition. However, a resource manual controls, it seems to have almost exhausted. Today, oil companies are not afraid to show disobedience and lack of attention to the political damage caused by the authorities of another man-made petrol crisis.