Tropigas, Tomza Gas, Zeta Gas and Unigas are being investigated in El Salvador, for allegedly having agreed prices or other conditions in sales in the industrial LPG bulk market.
From a statement issued by the Superintendency of Competition:
April 12, 2018In March the Superintendence of Competition (SC) started a sanctioning administrative process to investigate a possible cartel in the industrial market for liquefiedpetroleumgas(LPG) in bulk, among four distributors, who may have agreed on prices or other conditions on sales from January 2013. The companies being investigated are: Tropigas de El Salvador, S.A. de C.V.; Tomza Gas de El Salvador, S.A. de C.V.; Zeta Gas de El Salvador, S.A. de C.V.; and Unigas de El Salvador, S.A. de C.V.
The Sanchez Ceren administration is negotiating a contract with the Bolivian government for the purchase and sale of Liquefied Petroleum Gas in the medium term.
As part of the negotiations between governments the possibility is being considered of Yacimientos Petrolíferos de Bolivia (YPFB) "... participating in the marketing and distribution chain, in partnership with El Salvador's state owned company, said the Bolivian minister of Hydrocarbons and Energy, Luis Alberto Sanchez.
The Salvadoran Superintendence of Competition has fined the company $75 thousand for not giving complete information and not including VAT on the unit selling price of gas cylinders.
"... TROPIGAS committed an administrative offense defined in article 38 paragraph 6 of the Competition Act, having provided in an inexact manner the information required in the process of preliminary proceedings initiated in May 2011 in the gas market," reported Elsalvador.com article.
The company is conducting feasibility studies on the import and distribution of Liquefied Petroleum Gas in El Salvador and other Central American countries.
"It would be an important element if we managed to change the energy matrix of El Salvador," said José Luis Merino, Alba Petróleos advisor, who explained that the company (funded with capital from the municipality of El Salvador and the state of Venezuela) has had conversations with natural gas producing countries.
The company Alba Petróleos is preparing to enter the Salvadoran propane market in December.
At the beginning of its operations, the company may cover only 3% of the domestic market which is currently served by four companies, Tropigas, Z-Gas, and Total Gas and Tomza.
An article in Elsalvador.com by Luz Estrella Rodríguez contains quotes by the vice president of Alba Petróleos: "The gas will be stocked by a company in Honduras and will be unloaded to the 5,000 barrel capacity tank that has already been built in its plant located in Puerto de Acajutla, Sonsonate , as well as to other locations that are available in the port of La Union and that Alba Petróleos plan to rent. "
The company announced plans to venture into the liquefied gas market starting January 2011.
Luz Estrella Rodríguez, vice president of Alba Petroleum, made the announcement adding they are currently conducting a market study.
According to Laprensagrafica.com, "…..with regards to construction of a storage facility in Acajutla, Rodriguez said this required an additional investment of approximately $ 10 million, which was covered by their partner, Venezuelan state company PDVSA”.
Salvadoran propane gas companies expect to double their sales by investing in distribution centers and upgrading their customer service.
Tropigas will invest $4 million in expanding its storage terminal in La Unión, while Tomza, of Mexican capital, projects to open 100 stores in the mid term, in addition to the 200 it currently operates in El Salvador. Zeta Gas would also conduct expansion plans, increasing its express centers to 225.
The Minister of the Economy confirmed that the measure would be taken if the companies that import and distribute the product cause a shortage (of supply) in the market and affect consumers.
For their part, the members of the Salvadoran Association of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Importers and Distributors (Asogas) confirmed that there will be a shortage in the propane gas market within two or three days because of the failure on the part of the Government to pay the subsidy.