MOSCOW , March 18 - RAPSI. The Federal Antimonopoly Service may open a case against Gazprom after a probe into large-diameter pipe supplies, Andrei Tsarikovsky, the watchdog's deputy head, told the PRIME business news agency on Monday.

On March 15, the watchdog completed a probe into the TMK, OMK Steel, and ChelPipe steel pipe manufacturers, as well as Severstals Izhora pipe mill.
The probe was initiated on suspicion of collusion and conspiracy.

The watchdog stated that it uncovered an agreement that was illegal on the one hand, yet legitimate and socially justified under a clause of competition law, on the other. It noted that the producers should avoid coordinating activities in such a manner in the future.

Commenting on the case, Tsarikovsky said the decision was guided by common sense more than anything else.

"It was Gazprom that caused that situation, but it was the pipe manufacturers that were affected," he said. He promised to perform a deeper investigation into the reasons behind the situation, as well as a probe into Gazprom's other contracts.

The pipe manufacturers did not initiate the agreement, the official said. "The case materials include the minutes of meetings where supply volumes were allocated," he said. "These papers bore the written approval of Gazprom procurement officials."

As there was no competitive market for steel pipes at the time, no harm was done, he said. However, now that the situation has changed, the watchdog will impose a punishment for a repeat offense, he added.

Gazprom's charter capital is 118.368 billion rubles ($3.8 billion), divided into 23.674 billion common shares with a par value of five rubles. Over 50 percent of Gazprom shares are held by the state.