‘Sverdlovsk Region’s division of Federal Antimonopoly Service grew alarmed when Koltsovo airport of Yekaterinburg started raising its jet fuel prices at the end of 2007. We started monitoring Koltsovo as well as some other airports’ pricing policies and sent a letter to the Service’s headquarters. The letter said the fuel prices might have gone up due to price increases launched by the producer factories,’ Head of Sverdlovsk Region’s division of Federal Antimonopoly Service Tatiana Kolotova said at a recent press conference in Yekaterinburg.

‘We’ve been keeping an eye on the jet fuel market since 2006. Based on our inspection records, some legal action was taken in January 2007; it was proved that Koltsovo airport’s prices were monopolistic and the price went down from 20,000 RUR to 16,000 RUR per ton. What is more, the airport had to provide the antimonopoly service with all the papers that could prove the expediency of and the need for a price increase every time they were about to launch one,’ she added.

Tatiana Kolotova reports the Federal Antimonopoly Service initiated lawsuits against the country’s five major jet fuel producers, including Surgutneftegaz and Gazpromneft.

‘These companies control the oil market together, so they might be found guilty of violating the competition protection law. I cannot say what the outcome of the current investigation will be, but what I can say is that Koltsovo’s jet fuel prices did stop going up. The price of 30,600 RUR per ton has remained the same throughout last month,’ she noted.