The European Commission has published on the 5th october 2010 a prior notification of a concentration between Shell/Topaz/JV. The European Commission ask for observations for third parties interesed.

On 28 September 2010, the Commission received a notification of a proposed concentration pursuant to Article 4 of Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004  by which the undertaking Topaz Energy Group Limited (‘Topaz’, Ireland) acquires within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) of the Merger Regulation joint control over Shell Aviation Ireland Limited (‘SAIL’, Ireland), currently wholly-owned by Asiatic Petroleum Company Dublin Limited (‘APCD’, Ireland) belonging to Royal Dutch Shell plc (‘Shell’, England and Wales), by way of acquisition of 50 % of the shares in SAIL.

The business activities of the undertakings concerned are:

• Shell is active in the worldwide exploration, production, and sale of oil and natural gas, the production and sale of oil products and chemicals, power generation, and the production of energy from renewable sources.
• SAIL is active in the marketing of aviation fuels in the Republic of Ireland.
• Topaz is active in retail and non-retail sales of petroleum products in Ireland and is also the owner of import and logistics assets in Ireland connected with the marketing and distributions of fuels and petroleum products.

Observations must reach the Commission not later than 10 days following the date of the publication in the Official Journal.
Observations can be sent to the Commission by fax (+32 22964301), by e-mail to COMP-MERGER-REGISTRY@ec.europa.eu or by post, under reference number COMP/M.5880 — Shell/Topaz/JV, to the following address:
European Commission
Directorate-General for Competition
Merger Registry J-70
1049 Bruxelles/Brussel (Belgium)

Why are mergers examined at the European level?

While companies combining forces (referred to below as mergers) can expand markets and bring benefits to the economy, some combinations may reduce competition. Combining the activities of different companies may allow the companies, for example, to develop new products more efficiently or to reduce production or distribution costs. Through their increased efficiency, the market becomes more competitive and consumers benefit from higher-quality goods at fairer prices.