Kazakhstan, Astana, April 29 /Trend, A.Maratov/
Prices for best-selling AI-92 gasoline at petrol stations in Astana this week increased by 6-7 tenge up to 97 tenge (around 65 cents) per liter.
Sales managers of a number of Astana petrol stations say the prices increased step by step. A bit more than a week ago, AI-92 gasoline price rose by 2 tenge and then 3 tenge per liter. The increase in price was 4 tenge per liter in the beginning of this week.
On the whole, the price for AI-92 gasoline, which is so popular in Kazakhstan today, increased in Astana by 6-7 tenge to 96-97 tenge per liter. The price for AI-94 gasoline rose by 1-2 tenge to 99 tenge per liter (about 70 cents). The price for AI-98 gasoline has not still changed and is equivalent to 111 tenge per liter (80 cents).
Mikhail Serebyrakov, Director General of one of Astana's petrol stations - Aurika - reminded that the high-octane gasoline Kazakhstan consumes is mostly of Russian production.
"Russia has always been interested in our market. And it will continue to dumping the price as it did over the past three months. And now Russia has given up supply to us, and vacuum has been established at once. Russian suppliers will bring their fuel after a week but this time at a higher price, and our Kazakh producers will follow them," Serebryakov said.
He thinks the increase of gasoline prices observed this week is not the last one and will be followed by another one after the May 1 holidays.
Kazakh Oil & Gas Minister Sauat Mynbayev confirmed reporters' fears that increase of fuel prices was inevitable.
"Everything depends on oil price; evidently, international oil price grows, and the Russian price is corrected directly with this price," he said.
According to official data, the price for Russian oil Urals - the benchmark of Russia's export - on March 15-April 9 inclusively reached to $114 per barrel against the plan of $75 per barrel. It is generally known that oil prices have been growing since the unrest in the Middle East began early this year.
Mynbayev also reminded that Kazakhstan imports 35-40 percent of high-octane gasoline from the neighboring Russia. In addition, the fact should be taken in account that more expensive Russian crude oil is now supplied to one of the Kazakhstan's refineries - the Pavlodar refinery- that is technologically designed for refining oil from West Siberian fields only.
"This all undoubtedly affects our market, may be not to a very large extent, but affects," Mynbayev said.
According to Russian news reports, many regions here have faced the "gasoline problem" in the recent days; in some places, prices have increased, in others, there is a shortage of fuel due to agiotage.
The Russian Energy Ministry thinks the gasoline crisis relates to the increase of export of petroleum products by 67 percent and to that large companies keep the fuel.
"In the Russian Federation, there is, in all, direct dependence on international oil prices. Frankly speaking, in the Russian internal market there is a certain instrument of, say, softening of change of crude oil and refined product prices: this is a mechanism of relatively considerable export duties. However, the main component of the price for petroleum products is crude oil price. If crude oil price suddenly is $200 per barrel, nothing will prevent hike of prices for petroleum products", Mynbayev said.
Today, Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Karim Masimov signed the order over prolongation of ban for export of a number of kinds of fuels and lubricants. Noteworthy is that the ban for fuels and lubricants export in Kazakhstan should have remained valid till this May 1. The ban is prolonged to avoid shortage of and increase of price for fuels and lubricants during sowing season.