1.   

On 3 July 2018, the Commission received notification of a proposed concentration pursuant to Article 4 of Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (1).

This notification concerns the following undertakings:

—	Société Nationale pour la recherche, la production, le transport, la transformation et la commercialisation des hydrocarbures SPA (‘Sonatrach’, Algeria),

—	Augusta Refinery Assets, currently owned and controlled by Esso Italiana S.r.l., an affiliate of ExxonMobil Corporation.

Sonatrach acquires within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) of the Merger Regulation control of the whole of the Augusta Refinery Assets.

The concentration is accomplished by way of purchase of assets.

2.   

The business activities of the undertakings concerned are:

—   for Sonatrach: Sonatrach is an Algerian government-owned company operating in the oil and gas sector. Sonatrach has integrated activities in the exploration, production, refining, transportation and marketing of hydrocarbons,

—   for the Augusta Refinery Assets: the Augusta Refinery Assets consist of a refinery located in Augusta, Italy and a number of ancillary assets. The undertaking is active in the markets for crude oil refining for fuel and non-fuel products and sales of refined fuel and non-fuel products.

3.   

On preliminary examination, the Commission finds that the notified transaction could fall within the scope of the Merger Regulation. However, the final decision on this point is reserved.

Pursuant to the Commission Notice on a simplified procedure for treatment of certain concentrations under the Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (2) it should be noted that this case is a candidate for treatment under the procedure set out in the Notice.

4.   

The Commission invites interested third parties to submit their possible observations on the proposed operation to the Commission.

Observations must reach the Commission not later than 10 days following the date of this publication. The following reference should always be specified:

M.8959 — Sonatrach/Augusta Refinery Assets

Observations can be sent to the Commission by email, by fax, or by post. Please use the contact details below:

Email: COMP-MERGER-REGISTRY@ec.europa.eu

Fax +32 22964301

Postal address:

European Commission

Directorate-General for Competition

Merger Registry

1049 Bruxelles/Brussel

BELGIQUE/BELGIË