Commission declines to clear Shell to acquire Fletcher Challenge Energy
Published12 Oct 2000
The Commerce Commission today declined to clear Shell Exploration Company BV to acquire Fletcher Challenge Energy (FCE).
Commission Chair John Belgrave said that the Commission was concerned about Shell acquiring or strengthening dominance in all three of the relevant markets. The Commission can only give a clearance if it is satisfied that a proposed acquisition would not, or would not be likely to, result in dominance being acquired or strengthened in any market.
The relevant markets are the:
current gas production market
market for gas production after 2009, and
market for production of liquified petroleum gas (LPG).
"In summary, the Commission is not satisfied that Shell would not acquire or strengthen dominance in the three relevant markets, and we cannot give a clearance," Mr Belgrave said.
Further details will be available when public copies of the Commission's full decision are released early next week.
