Russia's two dominant suppliers of LPG, Sibur and Gazprom Gazenergoset, said this week that they will assist the Russian authorities with their anti-trust investigation.
The Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) said last week that it has started an investigation into the LPG price increases over May-September, suggesting that this could have been triggered by an increase in export volumes at the expense of domestic supplies.
"Gazprom Gazenergoset prioritizes the domestic market over export supplies and adheres to the maximum transparency of its activities for regulators and market players," the company said in a statement.
The company added that its average LPG prices have been lower this year than last year and that domestic sales have increased, while export volumes have shrunk, without giving further details.
"Sibur works within the framework of anti-trust legislation, and believes that the wholesale price for LPG is fair and reflective of the market conditions," the company said in its statement.
Earlier, the FAS' Dmitry Makhonin said that the price surge was "triggered by imbalances, in particular by the use of non-existent indicator in the price formulas and by the reduction of LPG supplies for domestic use with a simultaneous increase of export volumes."
Both companies said they were actively involved in LPG exchange trading.
S&P Global Platts reported back in September that LPG prices in Russia had risen by more than Rb4,000/mt (then $61.50/mt) over the two preceding months.
Russia produces around 15 million mt LPG annually of which 43% is exported, primarily to Poland and Ukraine. Around 22% of LPG in Russia is used as motor fuel, 25% in the petrochemical industry and 7.5% by households for heating purposes.
Gazprom Gazenergoset markets LPG produced by Gazprom companies.
