Oil companies give assurances no risk of major increase in fuel prices

Oil companies have given reassurances that there is no risk of a significant increase in prices or a decrease in fuel stockpiles, according to a press statement released by Romania's National Consumer Protection Authority (ANPC).The ANPC leadership - Chairman Horia Constantinescu and General Manager Paul Anghel - had a working meeting on Thursday at ANC with oil company executives who responded to an ANPC's invitation, namely Rompetrol, OMV Petrom, and Gazprom.During the discussion, the results of the recent controls carried out by ANPC commissioners at the petrol station chains throughout the country were analysed, and it was agreed that such meetings will take place regularly in order to prevent any possible unusual market situations.The attending business operators once again gave assurances that there is no possibility, at least in the foreseeable future, of a dip in fuel stockpiles or a significant change in price, which does not justify any concern on the part of consumers.At the same time, some concrete action was put forth to deal with the deficiencies found during the inspections. These and many more will be included in a good practice guide, which will be developed by a working group consisting of one exec of each fuel supplier, with the help of ANPC, so that the services and products in this field offered consumers to be of the highest quality.The discussion took place on two levels: fuel supply and the stores of consumer goods inside the stations, with the conclusions to be found among the measures provided for in the guide of good practices.With regard to fuel supply, given that both the price and the quality of the fuel and the durability of the engines are important to consumer, business operators should pay more attention to informing the consumer inside the station and not only, and also to fuel containers delivered to customers so that the business process is a safe one, given the highly flammable potential of the products.With regard to refuelling, it was agreed that it was necessary to renew equipment and commodity display systems, as well as more regular monitoring of product stockpiles so that there is no longer the danger of some of them being marketed after the date of minimum durability lapses.Special attention will also be paid to the issues related to keeping up cleanliness in the sales and storage spaces, so that they are aligned with the norms provided by law.At the moment, at all gas station chains, work is being done on a plan to deal with all the deficiencies found, under the coordination of teams of ANPC commissioners to the benefit of consumers.