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Roundup: French Minister Wins Assurance From Oil Companies to Protect Consumer Interests

Posted on: Saturday, 17 September 2005, 09:00 CDT

Roundup: French minister wins assurance from oil companies to protect consumer interests

PARIS, Sept. 16 (Xinhua) -- French Finance Minister Thierry Breton on Friday obtained assurances from French oil companies to protect consumer interests amid soaring oil prices.

He announced late Friday after meeting with oil company executives that an oil prices watchdog would be set up as soon as possible to protect consumers rights.

It was the first time that French government asked for oil companies' commitment to fight hiking gasoline prices at the pump with such a steadiness, including threats of a special tax on oil company profits to return money indirectly to taxpayers as well as other contributions.

At the news conference after the meeting Breton also announced that French oil leading company Total had agreed to absorb the fluctuations in the price of oil by holding back gasoline (petrol) price increases whenever possible, but would immediately cut prices in the event of a fall in oil prices.

Thierry Desmarest, executive of Total, said that Total had agreed that "in the case of brutal price increases, they will be spread out over several weeks".

"A fall (in the price of oil) is passed on immediately, an increase is smoothed out over time," Breton said, praising Total's decision "clearly goes in the direction of consumer interests" and adding that other oil companies had taken note of the arrangement with Total.

He also said that other oil firms like Shell, BP and Esso had agreed to invest "nearly 500 million euros" (611 million dollars) between 2006-2008 and Total had agreed to invest three billion euros in the next five years to increase refining capacity in France.

According to the French Finance Ministry, gasoline prices in France have fallen by an average two cents a litre this week, but earlier the price of diesel fuel had jumped 15 cents since January and that of lead-free gasoline 20 cents.

Oil prices fell to 63 dollars a barrel after hitting the 70- dollar record on August 30, or a drop of 10 percent.

French President Jacques Chirac on Tuesday also called on oil companies to commit themselves to lower gasoline (petrol) prices at the pump.

He asked oil companies "to show strong support for the indispensable movement toward lower prices at the pump," French government's spokesman Jean-Francois Cope quoted him as saying after the weekly ministers meeting on Tuesday.

Source: Xinhua News Agency - CEIS

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