Dealership System In The Petroleum Sector And Recent Developments

The dealership system in the petroleum sector has recently been evolving, thanks to certain decisions of the Turkish Competition Board (the "Competition Board"). Major market players are looking for alternative operating models to enter the Turkish market. Now, the question is: "Is the dealership system stable enough to make millions of dollars of investment?" In order to thoroughly answer this, licensing and operating models, as well as the framework of a possible intervention by the Competition Board, should be examined.

Dealership Licenses

The Energy Market Regulatory Authority ("EMRA") is the authorized body regulating oil and gas retail business in Turkey. Distributors / oil companies must obtain distributorship licenses, whereas dealers must obtain dealership licenses from EMRA, in order to conduct their business. Under Turkish law, activities regarding the petroleum sector and its derivatives are dealt with under the (i) Petroleum Market Law and (ii)