The deputy prime minister urged regions to reach agreements with independent gas stations and the Energy Ministry and antitrust service to work with independent refiners. The government says the steps should make supply and prices more predictable.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak called for more agreements between regional authorities and independent filling stations, as well as between the Energy Ministry, the Federal Antimonopoly Service and independent oil refineries. The government press service reported his remarks after a meeting on the petroleum-products market.
Novak said the agreements should help make retail fuel prices fairer and more predictable. He also called for regulations to be adopted more quickly so demand can be met promptly and supplies stabilized.
The meeting reviewed fuel-market conditions in the Nizhny Novgorod and Tambov regions and in the republics of Ingushetia, Karelia and Buryatia. Participants also presented measures to regulate fuel prices in several regions.
Novak previously said Russia had no diesel shortage, while officials had reported gasoline shortages and taken steps to prevent a deficit. The government and companies, he said, were arranging additional imports of petroleum products. The latest proposals concern agreements and faster regulation; the government statement did not announce new price controls.