OREANDA-NEWS. March 29, 2011. Executing instructions of the Government of the Russian Federation, the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS Russia) forwarded the draft laws “On Market Pricing for Oil and Oil Products in the Russian Federation” and “On Circulation of Oil Products in the Russian Federation” for approval to the Ministry of Energy, the Ministry for Economic and Social Development and the Federal Financial Markets Service. After the draft laws are considered by the interested bodies, they shall be forwarded to the Government of the Russian Federation, reported the press-centre of FAS Russia.

The main objective of the draft law “On Market Pricing for Oil and Oil Products in the Russian Federation” is sustainable and economically effective satisfaction of domestic demand for oil and petroleum refinery products by creating and developing markets with high level of competition and fair principles of trade and by stimulating open trade and development of exchange trading with oil and oil products.

To achieve the goal of the draft law, three indices of market prices are used: comparable foreign markets, exchange and over-the-counter prices for oil and the main petrochemicals (petrol, diesel fuel, aviation fuel, fuel oil). The draft law establishes the procedures for mandatory exchange registration of sales of oil and petrochemicals by all economic entities operating in the Russian Federation. The draft law also establishes mandatory purchases of a part of oil products for the needs of governmental agencies and companies with state participation.

For the purposes of developing exchange trade, improving its rules and organising the guarantee system, as well as establishing control over trading on the goods markets the Exchange Committee shall be formed.

The objective of the draft law “On Circulation of Oil Products in the Russian Federation” is to create conditions for effective performance of the markets of oil and petrochemicals. The law formulates several requirements aimed at developing competitive conditions. For instance, it introduces restrictions for merges and acquisitions on retail markets of motor fuel that create and strengthen the dominant position on a particular market. The draft law provides for guarantees for non-discriminatory access to the capacities of oil products storehouses. The draft law prohibits combining certain types of activities by economic entities. It introduces mandatory separate accounting for different types of activities on the markets of oil and petrochemicals. The law also specifies a requirement for disclosing information about oil and oil products remaining in particular storehouses.

“The purposes of these laws stem from the goals and objectives of the government policy: the Energy Strategy of Russia and the Programme for Developing Competition”, said Deputy Head of FAS Russia Anatoly Golomolzin. He thinks that that currently there are no legislative mechanisms to ensure their full enforcement. In this situation FAS Russia has to regularly suppress large-scale violations of the antimonopoly law. Therefore, it is important to create conditions for market pricing. Deputy Head of the Antimonopoly Service believes that price arbitration of exchange and over-the-counter trade, transactions on domestic and external markets, publishing information about the trade prices and volumes, storage capacity, introduction of separate costs and revenue accounting for the main types of activities, structural and conduct measures and other mechanisms aimed at developing market pricing will encourage sustainable economic growth.