MOSCOW, Dec. 26 (UPI) -- A market regulator in Russia slapped fines on state-owned oil major Rosneft and crude producer LUKoil for violating antitrust measures.
The Russian Federal Antimonopoly Service hit Rosneft with a $53 million fine and LUKoil with a $51 million fine for violating market rules for gasoline prices, RIA Novosti reported.
In July FAS regulators, acting on concerns from Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, cautioned LUKoil, Rosneft and other energy producers over inflated prices for domestic fuel oil.
The oil arm of Russian energy monopoly, Gazprom Neft, and the Russian-British oil venture TNK-BP faced fines of $47.9 million and $39 million respectively for earlier FAS violations.
The FAS in October called on Russian energy producers to lower their fuel prices to match global market conditions, noting the precipitous decline across the world.
Gasoline prices in the European Union and the United States have declined some 15 percent from summer highs, while prices in Russian have remained static.
FAS officials promised further action unless Russian gasoline prices reached parity with world market conditions.
