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Attorney general urges blocking of Conoco-Phillips Petroleum merger Some 16 states oppose merger, concerned price of gasoline could rise as competition decreases by The Associated Press
Minnesota’s attorney general is urging federal regulators to block the proposed merger of Conoco Inc. and Phillips Petroleum Co., saying it could drive up the price of gasoline in the state.
Attorney General Mike Hatch, in an April 30 letter to the Federal Trade Commission, said the two companies represent a concentration of market share — particularly in rural Minnesota — that could stifle competition if they merge.
“We believe that the merger is anticompetitive and will adversely impact the gasoline supply at the supplier level and, in selected parts of Minnesota, adversely impact gasoline prices at the retail level,” Hatch told the FTC.
While FTC officials do not talk about ongoing investigations, Mitch Katz, spokesman for the agency, said objections like Hatch’s are taken seriously.
Hatch said the state may sue if federal regulators approve the merger without conditions.
“Somewhere along the line, we’ve got to put our foot down,” he said.
Houston-based Conoco and Bartlesville, Okla.-based Phillips announced plans to merge last November.
FTC ruling expected by end of June The FTC is expected to rule on the plan by the end of June. The new company, which would be known as ConocoPhillips, would be the third-largest oil company in the United States and the sixth-largest in the world.
Last year, the two companies had combined sales of $66.4 billion.
Officials of Conoco and Phillips said few of the gas stations in Minnesota are corporate-owned, even though scores of stations throughout the state may carry their signs. Phillips spokeswoman Kristi DesJarlais said the firm has eight company-owned gas stations and 11 storage terminals in Minnesota.
Conoco spokeswoman Sue Reed said the company owns no filling stations in Minnesota but does own the Wrenshall Transportation Terminal, where products are stored in the midst of transport. Other states also oppose merger Attorneys general from about 15 other states also oppose the merger. Hatch has the support of the Minnesota Service Station Association, the trade group that represents most of the state’s independent filling station owners.
“Any time you take competition off the street, it’s not good for the dealers and it’s not good for the consumers,” said Ted Brausen, chairman of the service station association’s executive committee.
Mike Jacobs, an assistant Minnesota attorney general, said officials here are studying Minnesota’s wholesale supply and retail gasoline markets to gauge the full impact the proposed merger would have.
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