Antitrust watchdog launches probe into Spain's Exolum over potential abuse

Oct 21 (Reuters) - Spain's competition authority CNMC has opened sanctioning proceedings against Spanish energy logistics company Exolum over three suspected abuses of a dominant position, it said on Wednesday.

• The CNMC is investigating Exolum's alleged imposition of excessive fees and its refusal to grant access to its transport and storage facilities to a competing third-party operator at the northeastern port of Tarragona.

• The potential abuses might have led to consumers facing successive price hikes, the CNMC said, adding that the conduct would have allowed Exolum to maintain high profit margins and strengthen its dominant position in a coastal area of significant economic importance.

• "A third competitor might have seen its right of access to Spain's only pipeline network for the transport of liquid hydrocarbons restricted and, consequently, its ability to compete in downstream markets," it added.

• The watchdog has up to 24 months to resolve the investigation.

(Reporting by Javi West Larrañaga in Gdansk; Editing by David Latona and Tomasz Janowski)