VIENNA, April 14 (Reuters) - Austria said it was ordering an official review of whether partially state-owned oil and gas company OMV is complying with newly introduced rules on lowering petrol prices
OMV Faces Scrutiny Over Compliance With Austria's New Petrol Price Rules
Austria Orders Review Into OMV's Adherence to Petrol Price Regulations
Background: Oil Supply Disruption and Government Response
VIENNA, April 14 (Reuters) - Austria said it was ordering an official review of whether partially state-owned oil and gas company OMV is complying with newly introduced rules on lowering petrol prices, as the company denied on Tuesday it was breaking them.
The U.S.-Israeli war against Iran has led to the largest oil supply disruption in history and sent oil prices surging, with European governments scrambling to protect consumers.
Introduction of the "Petrol Price Brake"
Austria's government has introduced a so-called "petrol price brake" under which the increased value-added tax take from higher petrol prices is passed on to consumers in the form of a reduction in tax on petrol and diesel, initially set at 5 euro cents (6 U.S. cents) per litre.
OMV's Pricing Actions and Government Reaction
Wholesale Price Adjustments
National broadcaster ORF reported on Tuesday OMV that had informed wholesale customers that it would only be reducing the price of diesel by 2.8 cents a litre.
Official Statements from the Economy Ministry
"We and E-Control were informed at short notice of OMV's planned price adjustment," Austria's economy ministry said when asked about the report, referring to the national energy regulator tasked with enforcing the rules.
Verification Process Initiated
"The burden of proof now lies with OMV. We will in any case task E-Control with carrying out a special verification," it added. E-Control said in response to a question from Reuters that it would soon request the relevant information from OMV.
OMV's Response to Allegations
Company's Defense and Pricing Calculation
Asked for comment, OMV did not deny the reported price change but said it was obeying the rules, arguing that the calculation was different when taking into account fuel that was imported rather than refined in Austria.
OMV was fully passing on the 5 cent reduction on products from Schwechat, its main refinery in Austria, it said.
"This results in a combined calculation based on OMV's production in Schwechat and import volumes, which determines the OMV selling price for wholesale customers," the company added.
Additional Information
($1 = 0.8473 euros)
(Reporting by Alexandra Schwarz-Goerlich,Writing by Francois Murphy, Editing by Alex Richardson)
