(Source: "China Energy News" 2020-07-09）
In order to implement the "Regulations on Optimizing the Business Environment" and the State Council's relevant petroleum product circulation managementIn order to meet the requirements of the "delegation, regulation and service" reform work, the Ministry of Commerce recently decided to abolish the "Measures for the Administration of the Refined Oil Market" and the "Measures for the Administration of the Crude Oil Market". At this point, the crude oil and refined oil business licensing system that has been implemented for 13 years has officially withdrawn from the stage of history, and the era of entry based on "licenses" has come to an end.
Many interviewed experts said that the abolition of the document means two things"Release" means, firstly, liberalization of domestic oil market access, and secondly, decentralization of administrative approval. This move aims to change the past "setting thresholds and controlling access qualifications" to "loosening thresholds and strengthening supervision during and after the process." The government supervision work has also changed from "emphasis on approval" to "emphasis on market", marking that the market-oriented reform of domestic crude oil and refined oil is steadily advancing.
Comprehensively lower industry entry barriers
According to previous participationDeveloped by “Two Methods”Dong Xiucheng, Vice President of China Petroleum Distribution AssociationIntroduction:“These two documents clearly provided the business qualification threshold conditions for the domestic circulation of crude oil and refined oil for the first time. They also attracted much attention and expectations back then, and played an important role in promoting the opening up of the circulation of oil products. However, as the market-oriented reform of refined oil products continues to advance, the review and approval process of the old management methods is complicated and difficult, which has restricted the richness and competitiveness of market entities. Therefore, the competent authorities intend to relax many restrictions in the previous approval process and continue to expand the capacity of the refined oil circulation market through streamlining administration and delegating powers. ”
fromOn August 16, 2019, the General Office of the State Council issued the "Opinions on Accelerating the Development of Circulation to Promote Commercial Consumption", proposing to expand market access for refined oil products. On December 3 of the same year, the Ministry of Commerce issued the "Notice on Effectively Implementing the "Decentralization, Delegation, Regulation and Service" Reform of Petroleum Refined Oil Circulation Management, proposing to decentralize qualification approval. In April this year, the Ministry of Commerce took the lead in drafting the "Opinions on Promoting the High-Quality Development of Petroleum Refined Oil Circulation (Draft for Comments)". It can be seen that the abolition of the document was not a "whim" but "prepared". It is an extension of the "decentralization, regulation and service" reform of the oil product circulation market.
“This move means that the market-oriented reform of oil products is not a sudden advance, but a steady implementation. Companies are standing on the same starting line and will have more opportunities to obtain sales and warehousing qualifications for crude oil and refined oil, and more foreign-funded or private companies will participate.” said Li Yan, senior analyst of oil products at Longzhong Information.
In the future, enterprises can carry out normal business activities as long as they have the corresponding hazardous chemicals certificate and other compliance qualifications.“Lowering the industry entry threshold will once again remove policy barriers for the energy industry reform goals, promote the marketization of crude oil and refined oil wholesale, warehousing and retail links, and continue to enhance market competitiveness. " said Yang Xia, analyst at Zhuochuang Information.
Simplified application procedures and decentralized approval authority
In the original approval path, enterprises applying for crude oil sales, warehousing, and refined oil wholesale and warehousing qualifications need to obtain approval from the Ministry of Commerce; enterprises applying for the qualification to engage in refined oil retail operations need to obtain approval from the provincial competent department.
After the abolition of the two management measures, the qualification approval for crude oil and refined oil wholesale and warehousing operations has been cancelled, and the approval for the retail operation qualification of refined oil has been delegated to prefectural and municipal governments.
“After the procedures are simplified and the threshold is lowered, market means will be used to promote the survival of the fittest in enterprises and industries, and market competition will become more intense.” Dong Xiucheng said.
Li Li, director of energy research at ICIS China, also pointed out that after the cancellation of qualification approvals for crude oil, refined oil wholesale and warehousing operations, market entities will increase.“For example, in the crude oil market, foreign investors can enter as long as they meet the qualifications. In the past, it was similar to the 'paternal system'. The state was worried that there would be no buyers for the entrants and cautiously issued 'licenses.' "Li Li said, "But in terms of retail, after the approval is devolved to prefectures and cities, the prefecture-level people's governments must take overall responsibility for the approval of refined oil retail business qualifications and petroleum refined oil circulation management, strictly control market access, speed up the introduction of transparent rules and measures, and accelerate their implementation. The era of "making money while lying down" in retail is over, and the main entities entering the market will "show off their special abilities" in a fully competitive market. ”
Currently, the imported crude oil market still has regulatory policies such as non-state w88 quotas, the right to use imported crude oil for local refining, and the right to import crude oil.“The state has issued a signal to encourage qualified companies to import crude oil and export refined oil. More crude oil import companies and domestic w88 companies may appear with the opening of the policy. However, it is very difficult for crude oil imported from local refining to enter the domestic market. The National Development and Reform Commission’s policy red line of ‘imported crude oil shall not be resold’ may not be loosened.” Li Li said.
Supervision remains a top priority
Many interviewees pointed out that although the oil product market is currently being liberalized and the metabolism of enterprises' rebirth and demise is accelerating, the supervision mechanism during and after the event is not perfect. In particular, there are no regulations and regulatory implementation details for the supervision of the refined oil market, and it is impossible to effectively supervise the many problems existing in the refined oil market.
“Abolition of the old management methods does not mean ‘no matter’. Supervisory measures to ensure the orderly operation of the market are still very important.” Li Yan pointed out.
Zhu Runmin, a senior economist who has long been engaged in petroleum economics and strategic research, once wrote that an orderly and fully competitive market is a system of supervision, competition, and supervisionThe "trinity" complex, that is, adequate government supervision, fair competition among market operators, and effective consumer supervision, all three are indispensable. Government supervision is an important guarantee to ensure that the market is open, fair and impartial. Government supervision must be in place and not overstepped. Otherwise, if the role positioning is inaccurate or even confusing, it will not only disrupt the market order, but even cause the market mechanism to malfunction, so that reform and development will "reverse" the market mechanism.
Some people in the industry suggest that a comprehensive regulatory department can be established, the relevant laws and regulations system should be improved, the consumption tax management methods should be continued to be revised, and strict technical standards for quality, safety, environmental protection and energy consumption should be formulated based on the government's framework opinions and guidance plans and combined with local conditions. This newspaper will also continue to pay attention to the implementation and issuance of specific relevant policies in the later period.
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