THE BUSINESS: BP seeks go-ahead for European oil mergers
“British oil giant BP, is lobbying the European Commission (EC) in Brussels to relax its competition rules to allow mega-mergers…”: “references to competition policy will stir speculation that it has Royal Dutch/Shell in its sights.
By Fraser Nelson
Political Editor
26/27 Sept 04
British oil giant BP, is lobbying the European Commission (EC) in Brussels to relax its competition rules to allow mega-mergers between French, British, Italian and Scandinavian oil companies.
Nick Butler, BP’s head of strategy, will warn the EC in a forthcoming article that Europe’s demand for energy is being increasingly matched by fuel-hungry countries such as India and China. He will say that European consumers’ interests lies in having oil firms large enough to cope with this challenge. For that to happen, he says, the rules must be relaxed.