Bulgaria investigates possible fixing of fuel prices

SOFIA, Feb 25 (Reuters) -- Bulgaria's anti-monopoly watchdog has launched an investigation into the country's only oil refinery and seven fuel retailers over possible cartel agreements to fix prices of petrol and diesel fuels, it said on Thursday.

The Commission for Protection of Competition said in a statement it had started investigating the Bulgarian units of Royal Dutch Shell, OMV, Hellenic Petrolleum, Nis Petrol, Lukoil, Rompetrol and Bulgarian Petrol.

It has also launched a probe into Lukoil Neftochim Burgas oil refinery for possible breaches of competition rules while selling its fuels on the local market.

"We will not comment until we see the documents," a spokeswoman for Lukoil Bulgaria said. The other companies were not immediately available for comment.

The watchdog carried out an analysis on the fuel sector in the European Union country between 2013 and 2015 and found the retail price policy of the seven companies was very similar and too slow to reflect drops in wholesale fuel and production prices.

"This could have been a result of anti-competition practices -- cartel agreements," the watchdog said.

It also said the prices at which the country's oil refinery Neftochim Burgas sold its fuels for automobiles on the local market were higher than prices for exports, with all other conditions being equal.

The Commission urged the government to ease tax regulations for import of fuels to help boost competition on the market.