The Scotsman: Oil giants face price-fix charges
“Shell, which is being investigated in relation to its Dutch operations, said that the firm had been co-operating fully with the investigation, but has yet to be informed of any decision.”
Alastair Reed
Posted Oct 17, 2004
EUROPEAN Union regulators are set to charge two global oil giants and a Dutch road builder with fixing the price of a petroleum product used to pave streets.
Oil giants Exxon Mobil and Royal Dutch/Shell have both been under investigation by the European Commission as part of inquiries stretching back to 2002, along with road builders such as Ballast Nedam NV of the Netherlands. The investigation focused on the market for bitumen, a by-product from the crude oil refining process, which is primarily used in the construction industry for surfacing roads and waterproofing.