Itar Tass reported that the Altai Territory’s department of the federal anti monopoly service FAS has opened a case against 2 oil companies, Rosneft Altainefteprodukt and Gazpromneft Altai on the suspicion of a price conspiracy that has resulted in a fuel crisis in the Altai Territory.

As follows from preliminary findings the FAS obtained through inspections there are signs of violation of antitrust laws by oil companies. According to FAS experts, the signs of abuse are seen in creating shortages by limiting the wholesale supply of fuel to independent market operators.

Mr Stepan Pospelov head of the Altai territory’s FAS said that "We have not completed the proceedings yet, I cannot say that these companies are to blame for gasoline shortages. We are very carefully studying the situation, and if in the course of our investigation it is established that independent companies are related to what is happening today they will also be involved as defendants."

The first signs of a fuel crisis in the Altai Territory were obvious to motorists last Friday. Some filling stations limited the sale of gasoline and others, raised fuel prices by almost five rubles a liter. The territorial administration believes the shortages of gasoline are due to a new system of selling part of fuel by refineries through electronic exchange trading.

The industry and energy department said that the small and medium-sized trading companies are having problems with uninterrupted supply to its filling stations. Part of independent fuel operators failed to sign on time or did not execute the necessary formalities for participation in exchange trading.

(Sourced from ITAR TASS.com)