• 3 minutes e-car sales collapse
  • 6 minutes America Is Exceptional in Its Political Divide
  • 11 minutes Perovskites, a ‘dirt cheap’ alternative to silicon, just got a lot more efficient
  • 6 mins GREEN NEW DEAL = BLIZZARD OF LIES
  • 3 hours How Far Have We Really Gotten With Alternative Energy
  • 5 hours If hydrogen is the answer, you're asking the wrong question
  • 4 days Oil Stocks, Market Direction, Bitcoin, Minerals, Gold, Silver - Technical Trading <--- Chris Vermeulen & Gareth Soloway weigh in
  • 5 days The European Union is exceptional in its political divide. Examples are apparent in Hungary, Slovakia, Sweden, Netherlands, Belarus, Ireland, etc.
  • 18 hours Biden's $2 trillion Plan for Insfrastructure and Jobs
  • 4 days "What’s In Store For Europe In 2023?" By the CIA (aka RFE/RL as a ruse to deceive readers)
Reason Begins To Reassert Itself in EV Space

Reason Begins To Reassert Itself in EV Space

Slowly but surely, carmakers are…

Why OPEC Should Be Worried About Oil Demand Forecasts

Why OPEC Should Be Worried About Oil Demand Forecasts

Demand forecasts from the IEA,…

Australian Watchdog Blocks BP Fuel Station Acquisition

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission blocked BP’s US$1.4-billion (A$1.8 billion) acquisition of Woolworths’ fuel station network after months of negotiations.

According to the competition regulator, the deal would be detrimental to competition on the fuel market by removing Woolworths as a pricing competitor to BP. The UK-based supermajor, the ACCC said, sells fuels at higher prices than the rest of the retailers active on the Australian market in big cities, and the takeover would prompt other retailers to up their prices, too.

What’s more, the watchdog said, BP usually raised fuel prices more quickly than its rivals in Australia, and reduced them more slowly than them. “The bottom line is that we consider motorists will end up paying more, regardless of where they buy fuel, if this acquisition goes ahead,” the chairman of the regulator, Rod Sims, said in a statement.

BP had earlier offered to sell of its own fuel stations to make the ACCC look more favorably on the deal, first announced a year ago, but apparently this offer was not enough to win it the approval of the regulator. BP and Woolworths, however, can challenge the ACCC’s decision in court.

Related: 'Perfect Storm' Wreaks Havoc On Europe’s Energy Market

For now, the two companies have expressed disappointment and said they were considering next steps. BP’s Australian head, Andy Holmes, told media the company was consulting lawyers on what to do next, adding that “We remain confident that, with appropriate divestments as offered by BP, this transaction would not substantially lessen competition.”

Woolworths operates 531 fuel stations across Australia, while BP’s network is much bigger, at 1,400 outlets. According to the ACCC, the company set fuel prices at about 350 of these. To come to its decision, the ACCC analyzed price data from major Australian cities, finding that BP’s prices in Sydney, for instance, were 3 cents above the average, while Woolworths’ were 0.2 cents below that level. The watchdog argued that consumers would have to foot the bill of the acquisition by paying more for gas.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:



Join the discussion | Back to homepage



Leave a comment

Leave a comment

EXXON Mobil -0.35
Open57.81 Trading Vol.6.96M Previous Vol.241.7B
BUY 57.15
Sell 57.00
Oilprice - The No. 1 Source for Oil & Energy News