Photograph by Ryan McFarland
Oil giants BP and Shell are being investigated by the European Commission over allegations of price-fixing.
Unannounced inspections were carried out at a number of companies that provide crude oil, refined oil, and biofuel around Europe as motoring campaigners warned of consumers being “conned”. MPs have called on UK regulators to investigate price-fixing in the UK, with some alleging price-fixing has been going on for over a decade.
Tory MP Robert Halfon has led a campaign calling for an investigation into alleged price fixing and market manipulation in the oil market for the past three years. Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme he said
“The Government needs to say, anyone caught doing this, there should be prison for price fixing and there should be huge multimillion-pound fines on any oil company found guilty and that money should be passed back to the motorist.
The EC published a statement on the investigations, saying:
The European Commission can confirm that, on 14 May 2013, Commission officials carried out unannounced inspections at the premises of several companies active in and providing services to the crude oil, refined oil products and biofuels sectors.
The Commission has concerns that the companies may have colluded in reporting distorted prices to a Price Reporting Agency to manipulate the published prices for a number of oil and biofuel products. Furthermore, the Commission has concerns that the companies may have prevented others from participating in the price assessment process, with a view to distorting published prices.
Any such behaviour, if established, may amount to violations of European antitrust rules that prohibit cartels and restrictive business practices and abuses of a dominant market position (Articles 101 and 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU and Articles 53 and 54 of the EEA Agreement).