On 3 July 2024, the President of the Competition Council, Alexei Gherțescu, held a press conference to announce the adoption, on 28 June of the current year, of the decision concerning the so-called “Oil Companies Case” and presented details of the investigation carried out by the Competition Council.

Following an investigation initiated in 2021 and concluded with the aforementioned decision, the Council found that six companies operating in the retail market for petroleum products had entered into an anticompetitive agreement aimed at coordinating the retail prices of these products. The companies concerned are Lukoil-Moldova, Bemol Retail, Datario, Petrom-Moldova, Rompetrol Moldova, and Tirex Petrom.

The investigation covered the period from March 2019 to January 2021, during which the six companies implemented several rounds of price changes, applying identical price levels. These adjustments occurred both sequentially (when one or more companies modified their prices, followed shortly by others applying similar changes) and simultaneously (when most or all undertakings made similar pricing decisions at the same time, prior to public display on price boards).

The undertakings under investigation denied the existence of any agreement or concerted practice and justified their parallel conduct with various arguments, including the claim of rational market adaptation in a transparent environment. However, the Competition Council rejected these arguments, as the explanations provided could not plausibly account for the similar pricing behaviour across multiple undertakings. Consequently, the Council concluded that such alignment would not have been possible in the absence of a mutual understanding among competitors.

In determining the infringement and setting the fines, the Competition Council considered only those episodes in which parallel conduct resulting from a concerted practice could be clearly established.

Based on the analysis of the evidence collected during the investigation and the arguments submitted by the parties, the Plenum of the Competition Council found that the six companies had infringed Article 5(1) and (3)(a) of the Competition Law No. 183/2012 (as in force at the time of the infringement). This article prohibits agreements which have as their object or effect the direct or indirect fixing of purchase or selling prices or any other trading conditions.

As a result, the Competition Council imposed the following fines:

  • Bemol Retail LLC – MDL 29 million
  • Datario LLC – MDL 1.1 million
  • Lukoil Moldova LLC – MDL 180.2 million
  • Petrom Moldova LLC – MDL 77.8 million
  • Rompetrol Moldova JSC – MDL 191.8 million
  • Tirex Petrom JSC – MDL 1.5 million

The decision may be appealed within 30 days from the date of its receipt by the sanctioned undertakings, before the competent specialised court. It will be published on the website of the Competition Council once the confidentiality of its content has been ensured.