CNMC CLEARS BP, MOEVE, REPSOL ON FUEL PRICES

Spain's competition regulator closed case S/0006/25 on 21 April, finding no evidence that BP, Moeve, and Repsol coordinated wholesale fuel prices during the 2022 Ukraine energy crisis.

The three companies declined to comment.

The CNMC's own findings explain why the collective case collapsed. Repsol's refining capacity dwarfed its two rivals in 2022, and BP and Moeve lost customers to Repsol's discount programme rather than benefiting from it. Rivalry, not coordination, was what the evidence showed.

The complaints came from AESAE and ACIH, associations representing independent low-cost stations that alleged the majors used fuel price volatility to squeeze out competitors. The CNMC reviewed the claims under Articles 1 and 2 of Spain's Law 15/2007 and found neither anticompetitive agreements nor collective abuse of dominance.

The closure is consistent with the broader European pattern. Germany's Bundeskartellamt found indications of malfunctioning competition in fuel wholesale but imposed no fines. The UK's CMA found no competition problems driving refining margins. Morocco was the outlier, fining nine fuel companies a combined $180 million in November 2023.

The CNMC did not walk away from the fuel sector entirely. On 3 February 2026, it fined three Repsol subsidiaries €20.5 million for a margin-squeeze abuse against independent stations during the same 2022 period, and issued a six-month ban from public diesel tenders. The regulator drew a precise line: unilateral dominance is sanctionable; coordination between rivals requires evidence that was not there.

Of 19 CNMC decisions on anticompetitive practices in 2025, only four ended with an infringement finding. Fourteen were closed without one.

The distinction the CNMC has now formalised matters for every independent operator still waiting to understand whether Repsol's conduct was a one-company problem or a market structure problem.

Source: Global Banking & Finance Review