SENIOR management from Statoil's Norwegian and Irish operations will meet in Dublin next week to decide what action to take, following the multinational's abortive attempt to takeover the Jet petrol stations in the Republic.
It is understood that the Norwegian owned company is considering several options, including whether to mount a legal challenge to the Competition Authority report which recommended the deal be blocked.
The authority feared the takeover - would remove a low cost retailer (Jet) from the market.
Statoil, which is owned by the Norwegian government, may also consider pulling out of Ireland. It has argued that it needed to expand to compete with the other major retailers - Esso, Shell and Texaco.
However, industry sources believe that this would be a drastic move and one which would not benefit Statoil.
The company entered the Irish market in April 1992 when it purchased the BP chain for an undisclosed sum.
Statoil now enjoys 11 per cent of the market, but the Jet deal, which involves taking over 257 petrol stations, would have given just above 25 per cent of the market, making it the largest player. Esso has 24-25 per cent, according to sources.
Statoil is also understood to be very concerned over the potential harm of the price issue. Sources say the company believes the Competition Authority report has led to a public perception that the company is expensive for petrol.
Data published in the authority's report showed that Jet was at least 2p per litre cheaper than its competitors for unleaded petrol. The report also said there was evidence of non price competition in the market.
