Oil companies keep gas station prices at or below inflation — Deputy PM Novak

MOKSHINO /Tver Region/, July 10. /TASS/. Russia's vertically integrated oil companies are keeping prices at their gas stations at or below the inflation rate, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak told reporters.

"Vertically integrated companies, our main producers of petroleum products, are keeping prices in line with inflation," he said.

Earlier the Deputy Prime Minister stated that major Russian oil companies had prioritized supplying fuel directly to consumers through their own gas stations and to regions with independent operators. According to him, vertically integrated companies -- including Rosneft, Gazprom Neft, Lukoil, Tatneft, and Surgutneftegas -- own just over 9,000 out of a total of 29,000 gas stations in Russia. The remaining stations belong to independent operators, who previously purchased most of their fuel on the commodities exchange or from intermediaries.

Meanwhile, Russian authorities, together with the Federal Antimonopoly Service, are investigating the reasons for higher fuel costs in Crimea and Sevastopol, which Novak noted are linked to more complex logistics.