Shell tries to stop privatisation of Enemalta's aviation fuel division

The local representatives of Shell Aviation Ltd have asked the court to stop Enemalta Corporation from privatising its aviation fuel division.

Attard Services Ltd said that after winning a call for tenders in 2003 allowing it to become the second provider of aviation fuel at Malta International Airport it started talks with Enemalta in 2004 to use its pipeline and storage facility to transport the fuel where necessary.

Attard Services claimed that Enemalta had then asked the company to pay an excessive fee to use such a facility in order to protect their monopoly of the sector despite EU regulations on the matter. The company said it could not start operating because of the price barrier.

It then asked the Malta Resources Authority (MRA) to intervene but an inquiry into the matter did not find any wrongdoing and instead the MRA asked the two companies to hold discussions. According to Attard Services, Enemalta had not met this request.

The MRA's appeals board had found in favour of Attard Services on February 21, 2007 saying that the MRA had allowed a price barrier stop Attard Services from entering the market.

Despite the decision taken by the appeals board, the company said that both Enemalta and the MRA had still taken no action on the matter.

The MRA then took the matter to the Court of Appeal, which confirmed the decision.

Enemalta filed an application for the issue of a warrant of prohibitory injunction asking the court to prohibit the MRA from implementing the decision. On March 7, 2007 the court upheld the request.

The government had then issued a call for tenders in December 2007 for expressions of interest in the privatisation of the sector. Attard Services immediately filed an application for a warrant of prohibitory injunction against Enemalta to prevent it from privatising its infrastructure at the airport claiming that, once Enemalta was against introducing Attard Services into the market so would the prospective private operator object. In June this year, the First Hall of the Civil Court rejected Attard Services' request, allowing the privatisation process to go ahead.

Attard Services appealed the decision and warned that, if its application was to be turned down this would jeopardise public interest given the possibility that a free market would not be able to operate.

The application was signed by lawyer Peter Fenech.