OREANDA-NEWS. July 30, 2012. The Antimonopoly Service found that the group of persons comprising “Vostoknefteprovod” Ltd. and “Transneft-Service” CJSC violated the Federal Law “On Protecting Competition” for breaching the pricing procedure on the market of the services for oil transshipment, throughput and discharge, and creating discriminatory conditions, reported the press-centre of FAS Russia. 

On 20th July 2012, the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS Russia) found that the company violated Part 1 Article 10 of the antimonopoly law.

In December 2011, FAS was instructed by the Government to verify economic expediency of “East-Siberian Major Pipelines” Ltd. (“Vostoknefteprovod” Ltd.) using an intermediary to render services for oil stock transshipment at Meget loading depot (the Irkutsk region). Executing the instruction, the Antimonopoly Service requested information from the Federal Tariff Service (FTS) about a scheduled inspection of financial-and-economic operations of “Vostoknefteprovod” Ltd. carried out by FTS.

Having examined the received materials, FAS established that Vostoknefteprovod” Ltd. provided the services for oil unloading / loading at Meget loading depot through a contract with “Transneft-Service” CJSC, a member of the same group of persons, rather than directly to consumers. “Transneft-Service” CJSC applied differentiated tariffs to different consumers. Such actions of the company resulted in increased costs of services provided to end-customers that are subjects of state regulation.

FAS found such actions unlawful and that the group of persons, comprising “Vostoknefteprovod” Ltd. and “Transneft-Service” CJSC, violated Article 10 of the Federal Law “On Protecting Competition”.

“Vostoknefteprovod” Ltd. and “Transneft-Service” CJSC eliminated the violation and submitted documents to FAS confirming that from 2012 all services had already rendered under regulated tariffs. It constituted the grounds for FAS Russia to terminate the case due to voluntarily elimination of the violation. Accordingly, FAS did not issue a determination to the companies.

Reference:

“Vostoknefteprovod” Ltd. is included in the Register of holders of natural monopolies in the fuel-and-energy complex that are subject to state regulation and control, under No. 38.3.1 Registration Number (Section III “Transporting Oil and (or) Oil Products through Major Pipelines”). The services for oil transportation through major pipelines include oil transshipment, unloading and loading in the system of major pipelines, the tariffs for these operations are set under the framework of regulating tariffs for transporting oil through major pipelines.

State tariff regulation takes place under the Rules for state tariff regulation or their threshold levels for the services of holders of natural monopolies for transporting oil and oil products through major pipelines, approved by No.980 Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of 29th December 2007, and under the Regulations on determining the tariffs for the services for transporting oil through major pipelines, approved by No. 380-e/2 Order of the Federal Tariff Service of 17th August 2005.