Shell Cleared To Acquire Mobil Assets

The Commerce Commission has cleared Shell New Zealand Limited to acquire Mobil Oil New Zealand Limited's Aerostop network assets.

Commerce Commission Chair Paula Rebstock said that the Commission was satisfied that the proposed acquisition will not have, or would not be likely to have, the effect of substantially lessening competition in any of the relevant markets.

Public versions of the written reasons for the decision will be available as soon as practicable on the Commission's website www.comcom.govt.nz under Public Registers.
Background
Shell has not sought to acquire the entire Mobil aviation fuel business. The acquisition relates only to the supply of aviation fuel to light aircraft and helicopters engaged in a range of general aviation activities including agriculture, flying schools, tourism and recreational flying. These customers are supplied through unattended refuelling facilities (fuel pumps which are activated with customer swipe/fuel cards).

The supply of aviation fuel to domestic and international scheduled passenger airlines is excluded from the acquisition, as is supply to the military and other aircraft that use manned into-plane refuelling services. Also excluded from the acquisition is all infrastructure pertaining to the production, storage and transportation of aviation fuel.

Mobil's Aerostop network comprises 48 unattended refuelling facilities at 34 local and regional airfields. Shell's network comprises 32 facilities at 23 locations. The acquisition only involves aggregation at seven locations in the North Island.

ends

© Scoop Media