Ukraine’s state commission on international trade denied the request of the largest oil refining company Ukrtatnafta to investigate alleged irregularities in petrol and diesel imports to Ukraine.
Ukrtatnafta, co-owned by the state oil and gas company Naftogaz (43 percent) and oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky’s Privat Group, operates the largest of two existing oil refineries in the country.
The company asked the government to support it as a national producer and limit imports of petrol and diesel by imposing 30 percent quotas and tariffs on excessive imports.
In its letter to the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade sent in March, Ukrtatnafta claimed that 60 to 80 percent of oil and petroleum products on the Ukrainian market came from Russia and Belarus, and growing imports over the last 12 years have led to the closure of the majority of Ukraine’s oil refineries.
Independent oil traders were outraged by Ukrtatnafta’s plea to the officials. They accused the company of trying to monopolize the market, misrepresenting facts, and breaching World Trade Organization rules.
Read more: Oil traders face off with Ukraine’s biggest refinery over possible import quotas
The international trade state commission sided with independent importers and rejected Ukrtatnafta’s request.
“Given the absence of sharp and unpredicted growth in imports, the commission decided not to start a special investigation,” the statement released on April 20 read.
The commission also agreed with the public opinion that import barriers could distort the competition on the fuel market in Ukraine, causing fuel shortage or a sharp price increase.
Back in 2017, Ukrtatnafta and five other companies affiliated with Kolomoisky were fined Hr 1.4 billion ($53 million) by Ukraine’s Antimonopoly Committee for price rigging at an auction organized by oil and natural gas company Ukrnafta.
