Italian Antitrust Authority Imposes Massive Fines on Oil Companies for Price Fixing
Italy’s Competition and Market Authority (AGCM) has levied a total of €936,659,087 in fines against six major oil companies – Eni, It, IP, Q8, saras, and Tamoil – for colluding to manipulate fuel prices. The investigation, triggered by a whistleblower complaint, found that the companies, with the exception of iPlom and Repsol, coordinated to determine the price of the bio-component added to gasoline and diesel to meet regulatory requirements.
the illicit activity spanned from January 1, 2020, to June 30, 2023, during which the price of the bio-component rose considerably from approximately €20 per MC in 2019 to around €60 per MC in 2023. The AGCM persistent that this price increase was largely synchronized across the companies due to the exchange of direct or indirect information.
Here’s a breakdown of the fines:
* Eni: €336,214,660
* It: €129,363,561
* IP: €163,669,800
* Q8: €172,592,363
* Saras: €43,788,944
* Tamoil: €91,029,755
The AGCM highlighted that the cartel was facilitated by the publication of detailed bio-component pricing in the industry newspaper Daily Relay,with Eni directly contributing information to the publication.
Eni Disputes Antitrust Ruling
Eni has strongly refuted the AGCM’s decision, expressing “firm dissent and profound surprise.” The company claims the ruling is based on an “artificial reconstruction” of events that ignores the market’s operational logic and misrepresents the facts.
Eni argues that the AGCM’s accusations disregard evidence demonstrating self-reliant actions and price discrepancies among operators. They also maintain that the publication of bio-component price variations in Daily relay did not influence competitive dynamics, as the information was already publicly available.
Moreover, eni points out that the bio-component represents only a small fraction of the overall fuel price and that the AGCM’s decision penalizes legitimate and obvious commercial practices that promote efficiency and innovation in a crucial sector for the country.
