Are long-term gas supply contracts in the upstream markets anti-competitive?
Long contract duration is not anti-competitive per se. However, where most of the gas coming to the market is locked in for the long term, the cumulative effect might be that new entrants cannot buy enough gas to build a business. Individual terms and conditions contained in such contracts may also be prohibited: for instance, territorial restrictions are generally viewed negatively under the Community competition rules. However, one also needs to take into account legitimate needs to underpin expensive investment decisions with certain long-term contracts.
