Library / PETROLEUM INDUSTRY ACT, NO. 6, 2021 MIDSTREAM AND DOWNSTREAM PETROLEUM PREVENTION OF ANTICOMPETITIVE PRACTICES AND BEHAVIOUR REGULATIONS, 2026 ARRANGEMENT OF REGULATIONS
PETROLEUM INDUSTRY ACT, NO. 6, 2021 MIDSTREAM AND DOWNSTREAM PETROLEUM PREVENTION OF ANTICOMPETITIVE PRACTICES AND BEHAVIOUR REGULATIONS, 2026 ARRANGEMENT OF REGULATIONS
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(c) Bid-Rigging and Collusive Tendering – including cover bidding, bid
suppression, bid rotation, or allocation of tenders or customers in procurement
processes.
(d) Collective Output or Supply Restriction – jointly deciding to reduce
production, imports, throughput, or supply to manipulate prices, create
scarcity, or alter market conditions.
(e) Tacit Collusion, Price Signalling, and Anticompetitive Information Exchange
– using public statements, trade association platforms, or other indirect
communications to influence competitors’ pricing or output decisions, or to
exchange competitively sensitive information (e.g., current/future prices,
production plans, customer lists, bidding strategies).
3. No Defence of Custom, Stability, or Tradition
The fact that conduct is customary, intended to stabilize the market, prevent
price wars, preserve margins, or is carried out via trade associations or informal
channels shall not exempt it from liability.
4. Permitted Collaboration and Exceptions
This Regulation does not prohibit:
(a) Legitimate joint ventures, consortium bids, or collaborative projects that are
necessary, genuinely pro-competitive, and approved by the Authority or
FCCPC where required;
(b) Information exchange that is aggregated, anonymized, and historical, and
cannot reasonably reduce market uncertainty among competitors;
(c) Intra-firm arrangements or lawful franchise management that do not
involve coordination with external competitors.
5. Public Interest and Government Mandate Exception
Supply coordination or output reductions are permitted only when expressly
authorized by law, Presidential Order, or Government directive under national
interest provisions, and subject to independent oversight by the Authority.
6. Regulatory Oversight
The Authority shall monitor press releases, investor calls, trade association
meetings, and public statements by dominant or major market actors for
conduct facilitating prohibited coordination.
7. Enforcement and Sanctions
Any breach of this Regulation is a per se violation and may result in:
(a) Administrative fines, corrective orders, and cease-and-desist directives;
(b) Nullification of affected agreements, contracts, or bid awards;
(c) Public naming of violators;
(d) Disqualification from procurement processes; and
(e) Referral for civil or criminal enforcement under the Act and the FCCPA.
PART V – ANTI-COMPETITIVE SUPPLY AND TRADING PRACTICES
14. General Prohibition and Common Principles
1. General Prohibition
(1) No licensee, market participant, or group of undertakings in the midstream
or downstream petroleum sector shall engage in any contractual
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