Italy's Top Oil Firms Fined EUR 936M for Biofuel Cartel
Italy's leading oil companies, including Esso, Ip, Q8, Saras, and Tamoil, have been fined a total of 936 million euros for operating a biofuel price cartel. The penalty, one of the largest competition fines ever imposed by a European regulator, follows a three-year investigation into the companies' anti-competitive behaviour.
The cartel, active between 1 January 2020 and 30 June 2023, manipulated the price of the biofuel component, which is blended with automotive fuel due to legal obligations. The component's value tripled from 20 to 60 euros per cubic metre during this period. Eni, the most prominent player, facilitated the cartel by directly sending pricing information to the industry newspaper Staffetta Quotidiana and publicly disclosing its single-rate strategy. Other companies, such as Esso, Ip, Q8, Saras, and Tamoil, capitalized on Eni's communications and tolerated the newspaper's disclosures. Eni was fined 336 million euros for its critical role in promoting, organizing, and monitoring the infringement. The other companies were fined between 43 million and 172 million euros.
The biofuel price cartel, which caused significant market distortion, has been dismantled following a thorough investigation. The substantial fines imposed on the involved companies serve as a strong deterrent against future anti-competitive behaviour in the industry.
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