Why oil becomes cheaper, but gasoline does not become cheaper?
Present record reduction of price of oil under the influence of the pandemic will become history of world oil extracting. The collapse of cost of oil of grade WTI has provoked a collapse of quotations and other grades of "oil", including Brent and Urals. But what is paradox - the price for oil everywhere falls, and gasoline cost keeps as rock. At once we will make a reservation that what is said does not concern the situation in Turkmenistan where gasoline cost is fixed and is defined by the state. For today it is one of the lowest not only in the region, but also in the world. But about it we will develop a little later. And now - the opinion of experts collected by agency Sputnik, on why against the collapse of cost of crude oil it does not worth expecting cheap gasoline.
«The price for oil products, especially retail price for gasoline, in the Russian Federation and neighbouring countries is constructed not as much on the price of initial raw materials, as on maintenance of tax revenues of the states», - Principal Director on Energy Studies, Institute for Energy and Finance of Russia Alexey Gromov explains. In his opinion, in Russia approximately 75 % of the price of gasoline is a tax component.
«Besides, both in Russia and near countries the final price for motor fuel practically is regulated. Nobody even assume that the price for oil can sharply fall. Therefore, actual mechanisms of reduction of prices are not present», - Gromov says.
He explains that today at wholesale bases where the oil products made in the Russian Federation are delivered, the price for gasoline has sharply decreased, but in retail the price for gasoline practically has not changed, and it is caused by specificity of that regulation which is extended in Russia, Kazakhstan and other Post-Soviet countries.
Thus, the expert asserts that all this does not mean that retail earns, after all across Russia demand for gasoline has decreased practically by 50 % because of the quarantine in the country. Thus, liberalisation of retail prices at reduction of physical sales volumes of gasoline, according to the expert, will lead to that many enterprises, the independent gas stations, simply will go bankrupt.
«What for it is necessary? We distinctly understand that present extreme crisis is not the system phenomenon for years, - Alexey Gromov says. It is the phenomenon of next weeks and, probably, months. Therefore it is necessary to endure this moment simply. And, from summer, the situation in the markets will start to be corrected».
Without calling into question arguments which are given by the expert, we will note one more reason that reduction of price of oil does not only involve gasoline depreciation, but can even lead to its growth. As a rule, the large oil and gas companies focus on the post-Soviet territory in their hands not only extraction and sale of crude oil, but also its processing and sale of oil products through a network of other refuelling stations. When cost of crude oil sharply falls, such companies aspire to lower the losses by preservation or even increase in the price of gasoline. That is they want to gather additionally on gasoline sale that has been lost at sale of crude oil.
As to gasoline cost in Turkmenistan, it the lowest in the CIS, and one of the lowest in the world. The price of one litre of gasoline grade 95 costs 1, 5 manats at the Turkmen gas stations that at the state exchange rate makes about 42 cents.
