The Ministry of Fuel and Energy is initiating a check by regulatory agencies into the compliance of Ukraine’s largest oil mining company Ukrnafta with the antimonopoly law.

Ukrainian News learned this from the report of the ministry.

Besides it, the ministry wants Sintoza, Optima and Avias trading companies to be checked.

«The minister [of Fuel and Energy, Yurii Prodan] has asked the Antimonopoly Committee, the State Tax Inspectorate and the State Price Control Inspectorate to check operations of these companies,» the report reads.

As the minister put it, these companies have set unjustified fuel prices and abuse their monopoly position on the retail petroleum product market in a number of regions of Ukraine.

Prodan expressed concern about the synchronous suspension of sales at gasoline filling stations by these companies in March, which, the minister believes, gives reasons to suspect them of collusion.

The minister added that sale of petroleum products by Ukrnafta at prices much higher than the world wholesale prices was one of the factors that influenced the fuel price rise in Ukraine.

As Ukrainian News earlier reported, on March 21, the analytical group of experts on the operations of the Ukrainian market of crude oil and petroleum products and development of the oil processing industry agreed the text of a memorandum on partnership between the government and major oil traders and readied it for signing.

The memorandum gives a formula for determining prices of petroleum products to be calculated by experts based on the market price.

The final formula for petroleum prices will be determined in the near future.

The memorandum on partnership between the government and the major operators on the Ukrainian market of crude oil and petroleum products was signed on August 21, 2006.

As part of implementation of this memorandum, the Cabinet of Ministers set up the analytical working group of experts, which includes representatives of government ministries and departments as well as representatives of oil companies.

Experts of United Petroleum Consultants (UPECO) consulting company forecast that retail prices of light petroleum products will go down by April.

Ukrnafta will resume operation of its gasoline filling stations by April.

Sales at Ukrnafta gasoline filling stations were suspected on February 25.