Amman, Oct. 13 (Petra) -- Afaq Energy has received conditional government approval to acquire full ownership of Advanced Central Gas LLC, a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) distributor, subject to measures aimed at safeguarding market competition.

Minister of Industry, Trade and Supply Yarub Qudah issued Decision No. 3 of 2026 following a recommendation by the Director General of the Competition Protection Department and a review that identified potential risks to competition in the centralized LPG distribution market.

The review found that the acquisition could disadvantage small and medium-sized companies or discourage new market entrants if Afaq Energy used its market power and financial resources to offer extended payment terms, indirect discounts or free infrastructure installation.

However, the study noted that the market is regulated by the Energy and Minerals Regulatory Commission and that LPG prices are set through an official pricing formula, protecting consumers against potential price-related effects of the acquisition.

To address these concerns, the approval imposes a series of regulatory, structural and behavioral conditions that the companies involved have committed to implementing.

Under the conditions, companies are prohibited from offering customers payment terms exceeding 30 days or providing direct or indirect discounts on gas supply prices. They are also barred from offering to replace competitors' gas distribution networks without charging customers for the new infrastructure or installing networks free of charge in exchange for exclusive supply agreements with micro and small enterprises.

The decision further requires complete administrative and marketing separation between centralized gas distribution companies owned by Afaq Energy, prohibiting the use of one company's assets or resources for the benefit of another. It also prohibits deliberate workforce reductions and requires the protection of employees' rights.

The Competition Protection Department warned that violating any of these commitments would automatically invalidate the approval, require the acquisition to be reversed and the previous situation restored, and result in legally prescribed fines.

Under Competition Law No. 33 of 2004 and its amendments, economic concentration transactions require written ministerial approval if the annual domestic revenue of any participating company exceeds JD10 million or their combined annual revenue exceeds JD30 million.

The department stressed that completing a transaction meeting these thresholds without written approval constitutes a violation that invalidates all related actions and requires the previous situation to be restored. Such violations carry fines ranging from JD10,000 to JD50,000, with offenders referred to the public prosecutor in cases of noncompliance.

//Petra// AJ