Greek refinery found guilty of fixing prices
A driver is seen moving pipes to fill his tanker at an oil refinery in Aspropyrgos, west of Athens, in a file photo. Hellenic Petroleum, Greece’s largest refinery, was one of the companies found guilty of collusion in price fixing in 2005 by Cyprus’s Commission for the Protection of Competition, Bloomberg reported yesterday. The other companies were Lukoil, Petrolina and Exxon Mobil. The investigation lasted four years and the commission is expected to issue separate decisions in coming days. The commission said the four companies cooperated in setting prices for unleaded 95 and 98 octane gasoline as well as motor diesel fuel, labeling the collusion as a ‘deadly blow to healthy competition.’ The companies said they intend to appeal the decision.
