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From Bulgaria

26.05.2017 11:13

Bulgarian Competition Watchdog Cleared Lukoil of Monopoly Allegations

The competition watchdog has launched an investigation following an alert raised by Tradenet Varna – a company linked to businessman Veselin Mareshki who developed a chain of ‘low-cost’ filling stations in the Varna region and recently built his first VM-branded fuels retail point in Sofia

AUTHOR: publics.bg

The Lukoil Neftochim Burgas refinery
© Lukoil Neftochim Burgas

The Bulgarian Competition Protection Commission (CPC) has cleared Lukoil of monopoly allegations and said it does not have any ground to take action against its local subsidiaries dealing with refining, fuel supply and trading.

The competition watchdog has launched an investigation following an alert raised by Tradenet Varna – a company linked to businessman Veselin Mareshki who developed a chain of ‘low-cost’ filling stations in the Varna region, and recently launched his first VM-branded fuels retail point in Sofia.

In end-March the regulator also concluded that there is no sufficient evidence to support a cartel claim regarding the Bulgarian retail fuels market, clearing Lukoil, OMV Bulgaria, Shell Bulgaria, Eko Bulgaria, Petrol, and NIS Petrol, along with sector organisation Bulgarian Oil and Gas Association.

The CPC said that its analysis that even though the Lukoil Neftochim Burgas refinery was de facto the dominant domestic supplier of fuels, it did not abuse its position. Moreover fuels supplier Lukoil Bulgaria was facing ‘strong competitive pressure’ from other companies and could not pose limiting factors on the regional market in Varna.