Review of the state of competition in the sector of motor fuels

Abstract

This assignment presents a review of the competition in the sector of motor fuels. We will look at different aspects that characterizes it, such as the Spanish oil sector, the retail distribution market of motor fuels, the vertical relationships between refineries and service stations and prices of petrol 95 octane and diesel oil. We will also consider the Comisión Nacional de los Mercados y la Competencia (CNMC), which is the regulatory body in Spain, analysing the different aspects that affect positively and negatively the market of motor fuels. The liberalisation of this sector has brought major changes in the strategies adopted by the companies now facing an increasingly open market. Given the importance of this sector in the economy and society as a whole, these strategies have been punished by the Court of Competition since, on certain occasions, they have been used against the competition and have therefore been harmful to consumers. Such penalties are also object of study in this dissertation.