A spatial price equilibrium model in the oligopolistic market for oil derivatives: an application to the brazilian scenario

This paper presents a spatial price equilibrium model in an oligopoly market for refined oil products. Till 1997 the Brazilian oil market was characterized by the state monopoly of Petrobras, which up to 2001 remained the only firm authorized to import oil derivatives. With several agents operating in the primary oil supply market, the government stopped fixing the prices for Petrobras, which started to determine the prices based on competition with other players. In this new scenario some questions arise regarding the price levels at which refined products will be supplied in different regions across Brazil as well as the capacity of national refineries to compete with imported products. To answer those and other questions, a new oligopoly spatial equilibrium model is herein proposed, taking into account the special characteristics of production of refined oil products. An iterative Gauss-Seidel-like algorithm with sequential adjustments was developed and applied to Brazilian market data. The model, the algorithm and its application are described in this work. Such a model may be used both by regulatory authorities and by companies in the sector.