Press Release: Mergers: Commission approves acquisition of Shell Gas by Repsol Butano

The European Commission on 3 March 2005 cleared under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed acquisition of Shell Gas ('Shell Gas'), a Portuguese subsidiary of the Shell Petroleum Company Limited, by Repsol Butano ('Repsol'), a Spanish undertaking which is part of Repsol Group. This transaction was to create a third significant market player along with Galp and BP. The Commission concluded that the combination of the two businesses would not significantly impede effective competition in the LPG market in Portugal or any other part of the European Economic Area (EEA).