Kazakhstan fines CNPC for violating antitrust legislation
The Specialized Interdistrict Court of Aktobe has found SNPS Aktobemunaigaz, a subsidiary of China’s CNPC operating in Kazakhstan, guilty of violating antitrust laws, according to the Agency for the Protection and Development of Competition (APDC). Under the court ruling, the company was fined 36.7 million tenge ($68,123).
«The Specialized Interdistrict Court of Aktobe found SNPS Aktobemunaigaz guilty of violating antitrust laws. The decision was based on the results of an investigation conducted by the APDC Department for the Aktobe region… The court imposed a fine of 36.7 million tenge,» the agency said in a statement.
To comply with the antimonopoly authority’s requirements, SNPS Aktobemunaigaz has already increased production and boosted shipments of its products.
Commenting on the case, the APDC noted that the CNPC subsidiary had intentionally introduced unlawful conditions in liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) supply contracts. In particular, SNPS Aktobemunaigaz limited the payment period to three days and required tank trucks to be filled only up to 85%, putting buyers at a disadvantage. The company also unreasonably restricted the volume of LPG transported by trucks, thereby violating the rights of other market participants.
Earlier, the Supreme Court upheld the findings of the antimonopoly investigation against SNPS Aktobemunaigaz. At the time, investigators determined that the company had unjustifiably refused to sell LPG to certain counterparties. In addition, CNPC Aktobemunaigas, one of the country’s largest autogas producers, included technologically unjustified conditions in its contracts.
In Kazakhstan, CNPC holds stakes in a number of companies. Most notably, it owns 100% of JSC SNPS Aktobemunaigaz (oil and gas production in the Aktobe region) and 77% of JSC PetroKazakhstan Kumkol Resources (oil production in the Kyzylorda region).
The Chinese oil giant also owns stakes in companies engaged in oil production in the Kyzylorda, Ulytau, Aktobe, and Mangistau regions; 49.72% of PetroKazakhstan Oil Products (Shymkent Oil Refinery); 8.33% of NCOC B.V. (operator of the Kashagan field); and shares in several oil and gas pipeline companies.
