Bulgarian Competition Watchdog Suspects Lukoil of Market Abuse

Image from a protest against high fuel prices in Bulgaria earlier this summer. Photo by BGNES

Bulgaria's Commission on Protection of Competition has grounds to believe that there could be cartel deals and abuse of the dominant position of Lukoil in Bulgaria's fuel market.

This news comes from a preliminary analysis of the fuel market in the country, the results of which were revealed Wednesday by Bulgaria's state competition watchdog.

Wednesday morning Minister of Economy and Energy Traicho Traikov said he will request a monopoly probe by the Commission into Lukoil's position in the jet fuel market.

Last week Bulgaria's Customs Agency ordered the closure of the Lukoil Neftochim facility, the country's largest fuel producer, over failure to fulfil regulatory requirements related to revealing fuel sales.

Monday the appeal by Lukoil was honored by Sofia City Administrative Court, which repealed the Customs Agency order on the grounds that a Lukoil closure would mean shortage and lack of kerosene for the airports.

The Customs Agency went nevertheless to appeal the Sofia Administrative Court decision at a higher instance court.

The preliminary report of the Competition Commission will not be revealed in its entirety, for it contains information that is set to be used in its further investigations.

The watchdog nevertheless reported "concern regarding certain contract coditions and trade practices that could lead to a closure of the market."

Further studies could nevertheless take close to a year, according to the Commission's previous experience.

In an interesting development, RIA Novosti reports that in Russia Lukoil - the mother company of Lukoil Bulgaria - has just Tuesday admitted of price-fixing, after a similar investigation by Russia's anti-monopoly agency.

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