Italy’s antitrust authority fines oil majors nearly €1 billion for price-fixing

Italy’s antitrust regulator, the Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato (AGCM), has imposed fines totalling €936 million on six oil companies for colluding on fuel prices.

According to the Financial Times, this represents one of the largest penalties ever levied by a national regulator in Europe.

The biggest fine was handed to Eni, which must pay €336 million. ExxonMobil-owned Esso, Italy’s IP, and Kuwait’s Q8 each received fines ranging between €129 million and €172 million. Italy’s Saras and the Netherlands-based Tamoil were penalised with amounts under €100 million.

“The largest oil companies operating in Italy participated in an agreement restricting competition in the sale of motor fuel,” the AGCM said in its decision. The regulator stated that the companies colluded to set the price of a biofuel component that was incorporated into fuel costs.

This bio-component had been introduced by major oil firms in order to comply with regulatory requirements. According to the AGCM, the price-fixing scheme began in 2020 and continued for three years, during which the cost of the bio-component surged from about €20 per cubic metre to around €60.

Eni, in response, expressed “strong disagreement and surprise” over the ruling. In a statement, the company argued that the regulator’s assessment “ignores market logic and distorts the facts, taking legitimate communications between operators out of context.” Eni also confirmed it intends to vigorously defend its position.

By Tamilla Hasanova