Law 34/1998 of 7 October of the Hydrocarbons Sector establishes, in its fourth transitional provision, that the Government may establish the maximum prices for the sale of liquefied petroleum gases to the public, while the conditions of competition and competition in this market are not considered sufficient. The Royal Decree-Law 15/1999 of 1 October approving measures for liberalisation, structural reform and increased competition in the oil and gas sector states, in Article 5.2, that the Minister for Industry and Energy, by means of the Ministerial order, with the agreement of the Delegation Commission of the Government for Economic Affairs will establish a system of fixing of maximum prices of the liquified gases of the oil packaged that it caters to conditions of seasonality in the markets. The current Order ECO/640/2002, of 22 March, updating the marketing costs of the system for the automatic determination of maximum sales prices, before tax, of liquefied petroleum gases, in their mode of In its third paragraph, it determines, in its third paragraph, that the marketing costs may be updated annually by order of the Minister for Economic Affairs, with the agreement of the Government Delegation for Economic Affairs. The purpose of this order is to update the marketing costs and to amend the system for the automatic determination of maximum prices for liquefied petroleum gases packaged in order to ensure the safety of supplies and to improve the quality of home-sharing. Thus, this order, based on the aforementioned regulatory clearance contained in Article 5 of the aforementioned Royal Decree-Law 15/1999, comes to introduce significant new developments in the system of determination of maximum prices of liquefied gas Oil packaged, consisting of, on the one hand, the reduction of the review periods and the reference periods of the international variables in the calculation of the maximum prices, and, on the other hand, in the updating of the amount of the marketing which forms part of the formula for the calculation of that maximum price. The Royal Decree 1554/2004 of 25 June 2004, for which the basic organic structure of the Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Commerce is developed, in its article 1, assigns to this ministerial department the elaboration and implementation of the policy Government energy. For its part, Article 4 of Law 50/1997 of 27 November, of the Government, attributes to the Ministers the exercise of the regulatory authority in the matters of its Department. The draft order has been the subject of the mandatory report of the National Energy Commission. Likewise, according to the provisions of Royal Decree 1554/2004 of 25 June 2004, for which the basic organic structure of the Ministry of Economy and Finance is developed, it has been informed by the Directorate General of Economic Policy. Finally, the content of the project has been approved by the Government's Delegate Committee for Economic Affairs at its meeting on 28 July 2005. In its virtue, previous Agreement of the Government Delegation for Economic Affairs,

D I S P O N G O:

First. Object and scope of application. 1. The purpose of this order is to update the system of automatic determination of maximum sales prices, before taxes, of liquefied petroleum gases packaged and of the marketing costs.

2. The system for determining the maximum selling prices to the public, before tax, laid down in this order shall apply to liquefied petroleum gases packed in containers of capacity equal to or greater than 8 kilograms of such gases, used as fuels or fuels for domestic, commercial and industrial uses. The prices of liquefied petroleum gases packed in containers of less than 8 kilograms are free.

Second. Formula for the determination of the maximum selling prices, before tax. -Maximum sales prices to the public, before tax, of the packaged LPG's referred to in paragraph 1 shall be determined by the following formula:

An image appears in the original. See the PDF document for this disposition.

In which:

P = Maximum price not imposed in euro/kilogram.

Cbut, i= Average of international quotes FOB POSTINGS/CONTRACTS, in dollars per metric ton of butane in the North Sea (BPAP) and Saudi Arabia (S. Arabia) published in the Platts LPGASWIRE corresponding to month i. Cpro, i = Average of international FOB POSTINGS/CONTRACTS in dollars per metric tonne of propane in the North Sea (BPAP) and Saudi Arabia (S. Arabia) published in the Platts LPGASWIRE corresponding to month i. Fi = Average monthly in dollars/metric ton of the low and high rate of the Rass Tanura-Mediterranean freight for ships of 54,000-75,000 cubic meters, published in the "Poten and Partners" corresponding to the month i. ei = Monthly dollar/euro exchange rate published in the "Official State Gazette" or by the European Central Bank corresponding to the month i. n = First month of application of new prices.

Third. Marketing costs.

1. The marketing costs cover all the costs necessary to put the product at the disposal of the consumer, including those relating to the home distribution.

2. The marketing costs, which are fixed at EUR 0,353643 /kg, may be updated annually taking into account the foreseeable development of the costs of the sector and productivity, in order of the Minister for Industry, Tourism and Trade, Prior to the Agreement of the Government of the Government for Economic Affairs. However, the competent authority of the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands may make changes in more or less on the marketing costs established up to a maximum amount equal to the difference between the taxes the consumer is subject to the tax regime and those applicable in general in the rest of the national territory, on the basis of specific local factors which justify differences in the marketing costs.

Fourth. Tax impact.-The maximum prices determined in accordance with the second and third paragraphs of this order do not include taxes on the consumer, which will be included separately in the corresponding invoices.

First transient disposition. Determination of the maximum selling price, before tax, until the first judgment given in application of this order.

From the zero hours of the day of entry into force of this order, and as soon as it is not modified by the resolutions of the Director General of Energy Policy and Mines referred to by the final provision first of this order, the maximum selling price, before tax, of application to the supplies of liquefied petroleum gases packaged, in containers of capacity equal to or greater than 8 kilograms of content of such gases, shall be 0,676619 EUR/kg throughout the national territory, without prejudice to the provisions of paragraph 3 for the Community Autonomous de Canarias.

Second transient disposition. Supplies pending entry into force of this order.

The maximum price resulting from the application of the system set out in the preceding paragraphs of this order will be applied to the pending supplies of execution on the day of its entry into force, although the corresponding orders they have a previous date.

For these purposes, pending delivery supplies are those that have not yet been realized or are in the process of being carried out at zero hours of the day of entry into force of the above mentioned maximum price.

Single repeal provision. Regulatory repeal.

Order ECO/640/2002 of 22 March, which updates the marketing costs of the system for the automatic determination of maximum sales prices, before tax, of liquefied petroleum gases, is hereby repealed. in its packaging mode, as well as any provisions of the same or lower range that are contrary to the provisions of this Order.

Final disposition first. System application set in the order.

1. The Director-General for Energy Policy and Mines, of the Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Trade, shall carry out the calculations for the implementation of the system set out in this order and shall give the relevant resolutions of the maximum prices, before tax, of liquefied petroleum gases, in their packaging, to be published in the Official Gazette of the State.

2. These resolutions shall be quarterly and shall have effect from 1 January, April, July and October respectively.

Final disposition second. Entry into force.

This order will take effect the day following your publication in the "Official State Gazette"

Madrid, July 28, 2005.

MONTILA AGUILERA