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EU: Oil sector subject to dawn raids on Tuesday

By  |  May 14, 2013

The European Commission announced that the regulator has carried out surprise inspections of various producers and servicers within the crude oil, refined oil and biofuel sectors. In a statement from the regulator, the raids were part of the Commission’s investigation into whether various fuel companies in two EU member states as well as Norway fixed prices; the case also centers around allegations that the companies may have hampered competition by barring competitors from the price assessment process to distort prices published by Price Reporting Agencies. Those prices are the starting point for trade, and any distortion can have a “huge impact” on oil prices, said the Commission. Norwegian company Statoil ASA confirmed raids were conducted at its office in Stavanger; Royal Dutch Shell PLC also confirmed assistance with the regulator regarding the case.

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