But David Zylbersztajn, Brazil's oil-industry regulator (and son-in-law of President Fernando Henrique Cardoso), says that complete privatisation looks politically impossible before Mr Cardoso's mandate ends in January 2003.

ECONOMIST: Petrobras

But the oil industry's regulator has been given extra powers to shut firms found to be operating cartels.

ECONOMIST: A mild relapse in Brazil

Tanzania BP, an oil trading joint venture owned by the government and a subsidiary of commodity trader Trafigura, has been suspended from selling fuel for three months after refusing to do so because of a fall in oil prices, the energy regulator said.

FORBES: Big Surprise! Price Caps Cause Shortages!

But even the new law will not tackle the biggest problem: the fact that Nigeria's national oil company is both a player in the industry and its (incompetent) regulator.

ECONOMIST: Nigeria's prospects

Independent retailers had complained that oil companies and supermarkets had been using their scale to give themselves an unfair advantage, but the regulator found no evidence of this.

BBC: OFT says UK petrol market is working well

Critics have also accused Sonangol -- which is both concession-granter and regulator of the industry -- of acting as a way to funnel part of the oil revenues to the political elite.

CNN: The billion-dollar question: Where is Angola's oil money?