OREANDA-NEWS. November 06, 2009. During the trading session in October TNK-BP sold 91’74 000 tons of oil products, stated the company’s press secretary Nikolai Gorelov in an interview to the Oil Information Agency (ANI), reported the press-centre of TNK-BP.

During the three auctions held respectively on 15, 29 and 30 October the total volume sold was 63’18 000 tons.

Parenthetically, during the last auction held on 30 September all 16 scheduled sessions took place resulting in the sales of 26’1 000 tons of diesel fuel and Ai—95 petrol. The Company also pointed out that the number of buyers taking part in the auctions has been on the gradual rise. Furthermore, TNK-BP sales units managed to acquire tangible volumes at these auctions. “We believe that commodity exchange mechanisms are the most open and transparent out there. It is at the exchange that the market price for oil products is truly formulated. Therefore our sales units have been buying and will continue to buy petrol and diesel fuel on the market”, N. Gorelov was quoted as saying.

Throughout this month during the exchange trading sessions TNK-BP sold 12% of its fuel (including summer and winter diesel fuel, various types of petrol and jet fuel), slated for the domestic market. Based on the results showed in November TNK-BP intends to divest up to 15% of oil products sold at the Russian domestic market for such open sessions.

The Company also plans to continue to use the auction mechanism to sell its commodities long – such auctions already took place in late November. “We hope that if the October auctions prove a success, they will attract greater number of participants at the exchange – both buyers and sellers. The increase in liquidity at the exchange is something everyone will benefit from, because in this case a fair market price for oil products will be set”, added the TNK-BP spokesman.

TNK-BP sells oil products at the St. Petersburg International Commodity Exchange and the Interregional Oil and Gas Complex Exchange.

Earlier reports indicated that the Russian Anti-Trust Watchdog Agency FAS proposed provisions mandating oil companies to sell up to 15% of oil products  pepared for sales at open sessions. The Ministry of Economic Development in turn in a programme designed to boost competition at the oil market, which was submitted for review to various agencies mentioned the requirement to sell 10%. At a later stage a FAS spokesman stated that the organisation had no intention to start an argument with the Ministry of Economic Development with respect to the percentage of oil products to be sold by oil companies on the free market, noting that “the figure might as well be 10%”.