Regulator fines Repsol as court repeals previous penalty

BarcelonaHeads and tails in the tug of war between the National Commission of Markets and Competition (CNMC) and oil company Repsol. The National Court has annulled a €22.59m fine the regulator imposed on Repsol in 2015. However, the same CNMC has just imposed a new sanction on the company for not fulfilling the conditions imposed when it became majority shareholder in Catalan Petrocat.

The first case is one of the highest sanctions imposed by Competition. It was in 2015 when the market watchdog, then chaired by José María Marín Quemada, sanctioned Repsol on the grounds that it had maintained anti-competitive agreements. Specifically, the facts referred to the years 2012 and 2013 and, according to Competition, the oil company would have coordinated prices and discounts with three petrol station companies in Madrid, Murcia and Lugo. Although these petrol stations belonged to third companies, according to the CNMC they were led by Repsol.

Now the Court has issued a judgement in which it upholds Repsol's appeal and annuls the CNMC's fine "because it is not in accordance with the law". In addition, the sentence obliges the administration to pay the legal costs. This fine had already been rejected by the courts in 2017 due to a formal defect in the sanction.

Petrocat case

The Court's ruling puts an end to one of the conflicts between the energy company and the watchdog. But there are others. Yesterday the CNMC informed of a €850,000 penalty imposed on Repsol for breaching the conditions of its purchase of Petrocat. Repsol had 45% of the Catalan oil company and in 2014 it raised its stake to 90%. Then, the CNMC, to authorise the operation, established several conditions for Repsol. It had to sell 23 petrol stations in Catalonia, allow third parties to supply Petrocat petrol stations and had to periodically report compliance with these conditions to the CNMC.

According to Competition, the sanction imposed now on Repsol is for the breach of two of the conditions. On the one hand, that of "opening to third parties a certain percentage -which is secret- of the supply to Petrocat gas stations". The other reason for the sanction is the failure to submit the report on compliance with the conditions of 2015.