The Russian government wants to limit the number of gasoline exporters

The Government of Russia is discussing the possibility of limiting the number of gasoline exporters to combat gray exports. It is assumed that a closed list of oil refineries (refineries) producing commercial gasoline will be created, which will be allowed to supply for export. This is reported by “Kommersant” with reference to sources.

The Ministry of Energy sent a corresponding proposal to the Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak. According to the interlocutors of the publication, they can accept the document no earlier than the fourth quarter.

The problem of so-called gray exports worsened last year. Due to the drop in wholesale fuel prices against the background of sanctions, with high prices abroad, it became profitable for Russian exporters to buy it on the domestic market and then send it for export.

The government tried to stop the series of exports, established a barrier duty of 20 thousand rubles per ton for the export of gasoline and diesel fuel, for the supply of which to the domestic market, producers received damper payments. But since it did not spread to refineries, a number of exporters continued to use gray export schemes. First of all, we are talking about medium and mini-refineries.

Gray export of gasoline, which in May – the first half of July grew to two thousand tons per day, according to regulators and market participants, is one of the reasons for the increase in wholesale prices in recent months. Last week they renewed the highs again. So, on Friday, July 21, the price of Ai-92 and Ai-95 reached 64 and 69 rubles per ton, respectively.

In addition to the problem of gray exports, the wholesale price is affected by other factors: planned repairs at the refinery, the weakening of the ruble together with the rise in oil prices, as well as the growth of domestic demand.