BUENOS AIRES, March 12 (Reuters) – Argentina ordered oil companies YPF, Royal Dutch Shell and Esso to put a price cap on jet fuel charged to airlines that own airplanes registered in the country, the state news agency said on Monday.
The decision is seen benefiting LAN Argentina, a branch of Chile’s LAN Airlines and state-run Argentine airline Aerolineas Argentinas, which accused the three energy firms of overcharging for jet fuel last month.
«The price of a liter of JP1 jet fuel must not exceed ‘super’ gasoline (used by cars) by more than 2.7 percent from the price charged at a gas station nearest to the airport where it is loaded,» Telam said.
The measure by Argentina’s domestic commerce secretariat is based on a report by the country’s antitrust commission.
The government has put pressure on YPF, the local unit of Spain’s Repsol, as part of a drive to get companies to increase investment in energy output. YPF is the main jet fuel supplier in Argentina
The antitrust commission said oil firms were reaping «an extraordinary gain» by charging jet fuel 47 percent higher than super gasoline, when in the United States the difference is no more than 2.1 percent.
President Cristina Fernandez has slammed energy companies for charging global rates for the fuel.
«Nearly all the JP1 (jet fuel) is produced here, with the exception of a very small amount that is imported, which I think they do to justify charging us the international price,» Fernandez said in a speech last month.
Argentina’s economy has grown at a fast pace over most of the last nine years, spurring demand for energy at a time when private investment in exploration and production has lagged. Costly energy imports have cut into the country’s trade surplus.
Esso was purchased last year by Pan American Energy, which is controlled by BP Plc .
Source: reuters.com