Eni among six oil companies fined €936mn over fuel price collusion
Italy’s competition watchdog imposes one of the biggest penalties imposed by a national regulator in Europe
Italy’s competition watchdog has fined Eni and other five oil companies more than €900mn for allegedly setting up a fuel price cartel in one of the biggest penalties imposed by a national regulator in Europe.
The AGCM said on Friday it found that the most “important oil companies operating in Italy engaged in an agreement restricting competition in the sale of automotive fuel” and imposed fines worth a combined €936mn.
Eni was handed the largest penalty of €336mn, while ExxonMobil-owned Esso, Italy’s IP and Kuwaiti Q8 were fined between €129mn and €172mn, the regulator’s statement said. Saras and Tamoil, owned by Italy’s billionaire Moratti family and Netherlands based Oilinvest respectively, both had penalties below €100mn.
The regulator said the action had followed a “complex investigation” triggered by a whistleblower complaint. The petrol companies “colluded to determine the value of the bio-based component added to the price of fuel”, according to the statement.
The specific component was introduced by oil majors to comply with regulatory requirements. The competition authority said the cartel began in 2020 and lasted for three years, during which time the price of the bio-based component increased from about €20 a cubic metre to about €60.
The companies were not immediately available for comment.