Italian gas monopoly Eni was the seventh company to confirm that it had
been visited on May 16 by the European Commission, carrying out specific checks
on Eni's gas business, following on from its sectoral inquiry.
Earlier on May 17 company spokesmen for Gaz de France, Germany's E.ON
Ruhrgas and RWE, Belgium's Distrigas and Fluxys and Austria's OMV Gas all
confirmed that their companies were being investigated by staff from the
competition department of the European Commission. They gave few other details
concerning the raid.
The EC said it had visited gas companies in five member states,
unannounced, to investigate whether "the companies concerned may have violated
EC-treaty anti-trust rules that prohibit restrictive business practices and/or
abuse of a dominant market position." It did not say whom it had visited or
how many companies were involved.
A spokeswoman for E.ON-Ruhrgas said their visitors arrived on May 16 at
E.ON Ruhrgas offices in Essen, Germany, and were still present the
afternoon of May 17.
"It is correct that representatives of the EU Commission were in our
office," spokeswoman Astrid Zimmermann told Platts, adding that a few
investigators were still on its premises, possibly for a few days. "This
concerns additional examinations related to the sector enquiry, which we fully
support," she said.
Austria's OMV Gas, a 100%-owned subsidiary of OMV, said it was inspected
the morning of May 16 by EC officials and that it would cooperate fully, the same
response as GDF's. Belgium's gas supplier Distrigas and transmission system
operator Fluxys also confirmed they were both inspected on May 16. Distrigas
said that the latest investigation was separate from the statement of
objection, which the EC sent to it May 10.
Return to top
Next Page: EC
highlights power market abuse potential in EU
May 17, 2006
Printer-friendly format