THE price of unleaded petrol has been consistently cheaper at Jet stations than at Statoil outlets, a survey carried out over a seven month period, from June 1995 to January of this year has shown.

The survey, contained in the Competition Authority report, shows that although the unleaded price varied from 55.4p to 53.7p a litre at Jet stations, it was still at least 2p per litre cheaper than at Statoil.

The authority's report said that Conoco dealers were in the past persuaded to sell at lower prices, and to accept a lower gross margin, in the expectation that business would increase and this would more than compensate for the reduced margin.

"It might not be possible to achieve such a result at all the Statoil/Conoco stations in the future, or to persuade current Statoil dealers to reduce their prices and margins," the authority report says.

The authority also said that, at meetings, Statoil "was not at all clear about how it would ensure that its present dealers would follow such a course".

The authority said it was not certain that the former Conoco dealers would continue to follow their previous policy if they were to sell Statoil products in the future.

The authority found that, in the recent past, Shell outlets have begun to compete strongly on price in particular segments of the market. "Esso, the largest supplier, appears to compete less strongly on price, like Statoil," the report says.

The proposed deal, if it had gone ahead, would have meant that the market would be dominated by four multi nationals - Statoil, Esso, Shell and Texaco. Statoil, which currently has 183 outlets, would have taken over 257 Jet stations.

Some stations are currently located beside one another, around 12 according to Statoil. The Norwegian company's share would have risen from 12 per cent to over 25 per cent of the market said to be worth approximately £1 billion a year.

It is understood that Conoco approached Statoil about the proposed takeover. When it was announced, the Minister for Enterprise and Employment Mr Bruton asked the Competition Authority to investigate the case "with the consumer very much in mind".

Mr Bruton said last night that he had felt obliged to refer the matter to the authority as there had been several problems and investigations into the industry, concerning price competition over the years. He said any legal action was a matter for the parties involved, but he was confident that all procedures had been followed correctly.

Statoil said it was consulting with its legal advisers, but did not appear confident that it would have grounds to challenge the Minister's decision.