From the pipe that was sent the day before on the Volga bank in the Saratov region almost 1 thousand. cubic meters of oil. Fire broke out, fire covered 1.5 square meters. km of territory and five residential buildings, about a thousand people had to be evacuated from the neighboring village. Fortunately, no one was injured, but an environmental disaster can happen all over the country. Experts predict a rapid increase in fuel prices. The whole petrochemical industry of the region is concentrated in the Engels district. Therefore, it is very important for oil refineries that the consequences of the accident be eliminated as quickly as possible.

"If the gas stations do not speculate, then at prices this will not be reflected. Although now the supply of oil products is sufficient, there are enough reserves, even if the oil pipeline does not function for a while. But against the background of news, retailers may start speculating, "- believes the director of the Energy Development Fund Sergei Pikin. His words lead "Moscow Komsomolets".

In itself, an accident on the main oil pipeline is quite a rare phenomenon. It is possible that the pipe broke through the sudden drop in oil pressure due to unknown reasons. So the very unusualness of the incident can catch up on the oil industry fear.

According to unconfirmed reports, the fire could erupt due to a stub thrown into the spilled oil from a passing car. In the oil pipeline company Transneft, which owns a lighted pipe, it was reported that the cause of the fire was a "dumping fire from an external unidentified source". According to Pikin, in the Russian translation this most likely means that "the human factor played a role, perhaps the building next to the oil pipeline was on fire".

In the Russian Fuel Union make very cautious forecasts about the prices for fuel. As a result of the accident, a large oil refinery, on which oil was supplied, may lose part of the supplies. "How this will affect the retail sales of gasoline is still difficult to assess, now the surplus of oil products on the market," - said the executive director of the organization Grigory Sergienko.

In the current situation, the authorities may try to prevent the rise in price of fuel in connection with the upcoming elections. The Ministry of Agriculture earlier proposed freezing prices for motor fuel for farmers during the spring field works. The head of the analytical department of the company "Zerich Capital Management" Nikolai Podlevsky does not rule out that such a decision will be made because of political considerations, but this can lead to a sharp rise in the cost of fuel in the second half of the year. "The cost of spring field work is less than cleaning," he added..

Meanwhile, Rosstat was informed yesterday that fuel practically stopped rising in price. The average price of a liter of gasoline per week from January 8 to 14 increased by 1 kopeck - to 39.91 rubles. Diesel fuel for the same period went up by 0.1% - to 40.76 rubles per liter, according to Rosstat. In general, since the beginning of the year, gasoline has risen in price by 0.2%, diesel fuel - by 0.4%. Over a week, the rise in price of gasoline was noted in 24 regions, in four regions of the Russian Federation, fuel prices fell.