By Jesús Aguado
MADRID (Reuters) - Repsol (BME:REP), BP (LON:BP) and Cepsa on Wednesday confirmed that they were among oil companies being investigated by the Spanish antitrust watchdog in a preliminary investigation into possible anticompetitive practices in the energy industry.
Repsol and Cepsa said they would fully cooperate with the watchdog, known as CNMC, and have adhered to competition regulations.
"The CNMC has carried out an inspection at our offices in Madrid. BP has collaborated with the CNMC throughout the whole process," BP said.
The CNMC earlier on Wednesday said it had started an inquiry into several operators in the Spanish energy industry and raided their headquarters between Nov. 28 and Dec. 2 without identifying the companies under investigation.
A source with knowledge of the probe said that all the dominant players in the oil industry in Spain were subject to the investigation.
Energy prices soared in Spain, as elsewhere in Europe, following the war in Ukraine, boosting energy companies' revenues and profits, which in turn pushed authorities to intervene in the market with subsidies and new taxes and raised concerns about price transparency.
In 2015, the CNMC imposed fines of 22.8 million euros on Repsol and several other companies for aligning fuel retail prices at service stations.
The competition watchdog on Wednesday said inspections are a preliminary step in the investigation process of alleged anticompetitive practices and do not prejudge the outcome of the investigation.
If, as a result of the inspection, there is "evidence of practices prohibited by the Spanish competition act and by the treaty on the functioning of the European Union, a disciplinary proceeding is formally initiated," the watchdog said.
Anticompetitive practices can lead to fines of up to 10% of the volume of total business of the infringing companies in the year immediately prior, the watchdog said in its statement.