Petroleum companies are limiting fuel prices at their own gas stations in France and Italy

Fuel prices are high. In France and Italy, large oil companies are therefore trying to limit prices, at least at their own gas stations. TotalEnergies in France has repeatedly set an upper limit for months. It is now 1.99 euros per liter of petrol and 2.25 euros for diesel. At the Italian energy company Eni it is 1.99 euros for gasoline and 2.19 euros for diesel. The measure there was introduced on September 28th and is initially valid for 30 days.

This can be worthwhile for companies despite lower revenue at the pumps. Large oil companies are often not only active in the petrol station business, but also operate refineries and sell fuel wholesale.

“The companies like Eni are currently earning a lot from the refinery, the margins are relatively high,” explains Tomaso Duso, head of the companies and markets department at the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW) and chairman of the Monopolies Commission, in an interview with the ARD finance editorial team. At the gas station, however, the margins are relatively small. The corporations could therefore forgo part of it and at the same time benefit from the high margins in the refining business.

Losses or lost profits?

TotalEnergies estimates the cost of the price cap to be between 250 and 300 million euros. At the same time, the group's profit rose to 11.2 billion euros in the first half of 2026. Eni said the measure will cost the group an estimated 100 million euros per month. In the first half of the year, however, Eni was able to increase its adjusted net profit significantly by 43 percent to over 3.6 billion euros compared to the previous year.

"If anything, I think you can expect lost profits. They definitely won't make losses," says Thomas Puls, transport expert at the German Economic Institute (IW). On the one hand, he considers such a measure to be PR. “The other point is that, of course, we also hope to increase market shares and to recoup some of the lost profits through more sales,” explains Puls.

Great political pressure abroad

There is also government pressure behind the price caps in France and Italy. In Italy there is also the fact that Eni is a state-controlled company. The Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance and the state investment company Cassa Depositi e Prestiti together hold a good 33 percent of Eni shares and, according to Eni, exercise de facto control.

At the same time, a new excess profits tax for energy companies is being discussed in Italy. Observers therefore see the price caps from Eni and other providers as a possible attempt to reduce political pressure and the risk of such a tax. “In Italy and France there is, so to speak, a deal with the government behind the cover. So no excess profits tax, no other price interventions,” said Duso. In Germany the situation is different.

Germany has a different market

In Germany, the large oil companies are much more independent of the state, says Alexander von Gersdorff, press spokesman for the En2x business association, which represents German refineries and branded gas stations. "These other companies based in Paris, based in Rome, may have greater political proximity. There may be more discussions there than here." Here, on the other hand, there is pure competition and “also, as I would like to say, a positive distance from politics.”

And there is another crucial difference: the structure of the German market. Around 14,000 gas stations compete with each other here. According to Gersdorff, the largest provider, Aral, has around 15 percent market share. In France, TotalEnergies has around 30 percent. “Here in Germany, unlike in France and Italy, we don’t have a national champion,” says von Gersdorff. The German market is more fragmented. There are hundreds of providers and the question arises: “Who should lead the way?”

Despite many different brands, the German gas station market is comparatively concentrated on a few large operators. This emerges from figures from the Energy Information Service from 2025.

Aral accounts for almost 16 percent of the gas stations in Germany, Shell for more than 13 percent and Circle K/TotalEnergies around eight percent. This is followed by Esso with a good eight percent as well as Avia and Jet with around six percent each. Raiffeisen follows with five percent and Orlen/Star with four percent each. The eight largest operators together account for around two thirds of the German gas station network.

A lid would be possible under antitrust law

In principle, a voluntary price cap by a mineral oil company in Germany would not be ruled out. “In terms of antitrust law, there is nothing that speaks against an independent price cap - on the contrary. That would be a fine thing from a competition point of view,” the Federal Cartel Office told the ARD financial editorial team. A voluntary cap could increase price pressure on other competitors.

However, this could also have negative effects for small gas stations. “For the free gas station, this means that the prices also have to go down because otherwise no customers will come to them,” says Duso. However, this is more difficult for independent gas stations. They typically do not own their own refineries and therefore cannot offset potential losses at the pump with profits from another part of the business.

At the same time, the Federal Cartel Office is currently investigating the refinery level. The question is whether companies with market power took advantage of the special market situation and raised prices more than necessary. “We have been intensively pursuing the pricing procedures at the refinery level that have been running since May,” said Andreas Mundt, President of the Federal Cartel Office.

The real problem: global shortages

Regardless of the German market structure, the question remains whether a price cap would solve the actual problem. Because fuel is currently in short supply worldwide - especially diesel. IW expert Thomas Puls sees this as the central reason for the high prices: "We have an undersupply in the market on a global level. That is the real basic problem."

A lower selling price at individual German gas stations would not change this global shortage. In addition, a price cap could increase demand in Germany. Part of the relief in Germany could come at the expense of other markets and consumers there.

Experts rely on targeted help

Duso and Puls therefore do not see a price cap - whether voluntary or regulated by the state - as an appropriate answer to high fuel prices. Instead, they advocate targeted support for those people who are particularly suffering from the increased costs. Duso suggests direct payments to low-income households: "The solution exists. Only the government has now decided to address fuel prices, which is not the right thing to do in this situation."

Puls argues similarly and points out that people with low incomes and high travel costs in particular could be specifically relieved. “For example, I could use the tax documents to identify households where two things come together: medium to low income and claiming the commuter allowance,” says Puls. This makes it possible to determine who has to spend a large portion of their income on fuel.