In 7 June 2018, the AdC published an analysis of the road liquid fuels sector in mainland Portugal.
The AdC concluded that the sector was very concentrated along the whole value chain, there were barriers to the entry and expansion of operators, particularly in refining and storage activities, and there was a substantial degree of vertical integration of the main operators, from the ex-refinery to the retail.
The AdC highlighted that a significant part of the recommendations it issued in 2004, 2009 and 2012, to promote competitive conditions in the sector, pertaining to the sub-concession for roadside fuel stations on motorways had not been implemented and, as such, high barriers to entry persisted in those markets.
The AdC concluded that, between 2011 and 2017, the absolute margins in the sector were fairly stable, while the percentage mark-ups were more volatile, due to the variability of the retail prices. Notwithstanding, the AdC noted that, between the second half of 2015 and the beginning of 2016, the absolute gross margins increased, potentially as a result of the fact that the sharp drop in the international reference price may have been passed more slowly to retail prices.
The AdC noted that the fiscal policy costs were the main component of the retail prices, having represented, in February 2018, around 63% and 56% of gasoline and diesel retail prices, respectively.
The AdC issued several recommendations to promote competition in the sector, namely:
(i) the promotion of access to logistic infrastructures for liquid fuels, in particular, the adoption of measures to ensure the connection to the port of Sines of the oil pipeline which links the refinery of Sines to the most important storage facility for those products in Portugal;
(ii) the promotion of competition for the market in terms of motorway fuel stations, namely through widely publicized tender procedures for awarding those sub-concessions; and
(iii) the promotion of market transparency that is beneficial to consumers and the discouragement of market transparency that could weaken competition, namely by eliminating the advertising of reference prices.