Mr. Mundt, since the spring you have been investigating what is happening on the mineral oil market in a sector inquiry. Have you found any indications that the multinationals are cashing in on German drivers?
What we have seen is that the gap between crude oil and gas station prices has increased significantly, at least temporarily. So we’re looking very closely at what’s happening at the intermediate level of wholesale and refinery. And that’s pretty complex. Take the events of the last few months. There were technical failures in refineries, difficulties with transport due to the low water level in the Rhine, and there is sometimes a lack of diesel, which otherwise came fully refined from Russia. And so forth. What I want to say: There are many factors that play a role in how prices are determined.
The petroleum industry argues in a similar way.
I’m certainly not the advocate of the industry, but the connections are very complicated. Of course, this is a tight market with very few players. The large mineral oil companies are also vertically integrated and can influence prices at every point in the value chain. We are dealing with an oligopoly in the gas station market and certainly with subdued competition. It is also a fact that the industry has made high profits in recent months. But none of this answers the question of whether the prices at the gas station are abusively inflated. It is not enough to just single out two parameters. We will present initial conclusions in an interim report in the autumn.
Because of the lack of competition in the gas station market, the federal government even wants to tighten up antitrust law – even going so far as to break up companies. Is the government also too hasty?
I think there is a wrong impression here. The development on the mineral oil market was only the last reason for the amendment. I think it would be daring to deduce from this that the refineries will be the first to come into focus. This reform generally addresses market structures that have been handed down and offers new opportunities to intervene there – always on the condition that competition is significantly disrupted. The draft bill provides for a sector inquiry to be carried out first. These are very in-depth analyzes dealing with the structures and functioning of entire markets. That’s why I won’t name any sectors that might be suitable for the new instruments.
So let’s go back to the oil companies: they are all based abroad. How realistic is the idea of being able to break up such corporations?
Regardless of the mineral oil industry, break-up or demerger will only remain an ultima ratio in the future. In order to reopen encrusted markets and give newcomers access, there can also be less drastic means, such as requirements on how companies have to behave. This can be, for example, delivery obligations or the erection of Chinese walls to seal off company divisions from one another. It should also not be forgotten that demerger procedures take a long time. Quick solutions cannot be achieved with this. In the USA it was an average of 64 months, including the court proceedings even 84 months. This is not an easy exercise.
It sounds as if you approached the new instruments with a great deal of respect.
