Australia's competition regulator, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), is planning to oppose BP’s proposed acquisition of Woolworths’ network of retail service station sites in the country, saying it substantially undermines competition in the retail supply of fuel. Besides, ACCC estimates that the acquisition would increase fuel prices at the Woolworths sites, since BP's prices are higher than Woolworths' and BP generally increases prices faster than Woolworths during price increase phases, and is slower to discount during the price discounting phase of cycles.
BP is one of the largest suppliers of fuel to Australia’s industrial and commercial sector. The group already owns 350 BP branded fuel and convenience retail sites across Australia; an additional 1,050 fuel and convenience stores are branded BP but are owned by independent business partners. The US$1.3bn sale was announced in December 2016 and includes 527 fuel and convenience stores across Australia as well as 12 sites under development.
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