Registration of Oil Product Transactions Fails to Attract Traders
In the first ten days of voluntary registration of over-the-counter transactions involving oil products, market participants submitted no contracts, learned “Kommersant”. Starting from March 2027, the procedure will become mandatory. While accounting is expected to enhance transaction transparency, it will not eliminate fuel shortages, and it may impose additional burdens on smaller traders, experts note.
Retail fuel prices are rising unevenly. According to Rosstat, during the week from August 31 to September 7, the average price of gasoline in Russia increased by 49 kopecks, reaching 78.25 rubles per liter, while diesel fuel rose by 4 kopecks to 88.44 rubles per liter. Fuel costs increased in 49 regions, while nine regions experienced price declines. In Moscow and St. Petersburg, prices remained virtually unchanged over the week.
The Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) positions the registration system as a tool for ensuring traceability in supply chains and creating a more transparent pricing mechanism. Indicative prices by region, based on the collected data, are expected to serve as benchmarks for controlling markups.
According to FAS, there were no takers wishing to voluntarily register contracts by September 10.
However, they noted that in 2026 more than 50 companies voluntarily registered monthly transactions totaling over 500,000 tons of oil products under small wholesale contracts.
An industry source sees the initiative as an attempt to demonstrate regulatory activity at a time when they cannot address the main issue — saturating the domestic market with gasoline due to the aftermath of attacks on oil refineries. According to this source, the system will create significant operational costs for traders. Another trading participant points out that the largest trader holds a 5% share in the exchange market or 1% of the Russian market. Thus, he continues, there are no dominant players among traders, meaning that significant impacts from registration on the market are not expected.
Registration of over-the-counter transactions in itself will not be a tool for long-term price suppression, says Sergei Tereshkin, CEO of Open Oil Market. In his opinion, manual regulation and constant monitoring require substantial resources from regulators and traders and do not create incentives for reducing fuel costs. Statistics on over-the-counter sales cannot in itself serve as a lever for price reduction: data collection will only increase the administrative burden without ensuring market stabilization in the long term, he asserts.
Managing Partner of NEFT Research, Sergei Frolov, believes the new system will enhance the transparency of the pricing chain, but it will not in itself allow for price influence. The regulator, he explains, will be able to view deal conditions and identify possible discrimination against independent participants; however, amid supply shortages, this will not address the causes of price increases. Additionally, the extra reporting could increase the burden on smaller traders and create additional barriers for them.
Source: Kommersant
