Author: United States Government Accountability Office

Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform

Published: 2017-09-08

Total Pages: 70

ISBN-13: 9781976194894

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During the late 1990s, many petroleum companies merged to stay profitable while crude oil prices were low, and in recent years mergers have continued. Congress and others have concerns about the impact mergers might be having on competition in U.S. petroleum markets. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has the authority to maintain competition in the petroleum industry and reviews proposed mergers to determine whether they are likely to diminish competition or increase prices, among other things. GAO was asked to examine (1) mergers in the U.S. petroleum industry and changes in market concentration since 2000 and (2) the steps FTC uses to maintain competition in the U.S. petroleum industry, and the roles other federal and state agencies play in monitoring petroleum industry markets. In conducting this study, GAO worked with petroleum industry experts to delineate regional markets and to develop estimates of refinery gasoline production capacity in order to calculate market concentration. GAO used public and private data as well as interviews for its analyses. To enhance FTC's effectiveness in maintaining competition in the U.S. petroleum industry, GAO is recom-mending that FTC (1) conduct more

Download or read book Energy Markets written by United States Government Accountability Office and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2017-09-08 with total page 70 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During the late 1990s, many petroleum companies merged to stay profitable while crude oil prices were low, and in recent years mergers have continued. Congress and others have concerns about the impact mergers might be having on competition in U.S. petroleum markets. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has the authority to maintain competition in the petroleum industry and reviews proposed mergers to determine whether they are likely to diminish competition or increase prices, among other things. GAO was asked to examine (1) mergers in the U.S. petroleum industry and changes in market concentration since 2000 and (2) the steps FTC uses to maintain competition in the U.S. petroleum industry, and the roles other federal and state agencies play in monitoring petroleum industry markets. In conducting this study, GAO worked with petroleum industry experts to delineate regional markets and to develop estimates of refinery gasoline production capacity in order to calculate market concentration. GAO used public and private data as well as interviews for its analyses. To enhance FTC's effectiveness in maintaining competition in the U.S. petroleum industry, GAO is recom-mending that FTC (1) conduct more