SYDNEY, March 26, 2026 — An Australian federal court has imposed a total of $6 million in penalties on oil and gas services company Qteq Pty Ltd and its executive chairman Simon Ashton for attempting to engage in cartel conduct in the country’s oil and gas services sector.
The Federal Court of Australia ordered Qteq to pay $5 million and Ashton to pay $1 million following proceedings brought by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. The penalty imposed on Ashton is the largest ever handed down in Australia for an individual breach of competition law.
The case stems from attempts between 2017 and 2019 by Qteq and Ashton to persuade suppliers in the oil and gas services industry to enter into agreements containing cartel provisions. According to the court’s earlier findings in April 2025, the proposed arrangements included agreements not to supply services to certain large oil and gas companies, plans to rig a multi-million-dollar tender, and attempts to divide markets.
ACCC Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb said cartel conduct poses a serious threat to competition, particularly in key sectors such as oil and gas services.
“These attempted cartel arrangements involved proposals to boycott major customers, rig a tender and allocate markets,” Cass-Gottlieb said, noting that enforcement against cartel conduct remains a top priority for the regulator.
The ACCC emphasised that the attempts failed only because the other companies approached rejected the proposals.
The court also issued a non-indemnification order against Ashton, preventing him from seeking reimbursement through insurance for the penalty. Justice Bromwich said the sanction would lose its deterrent effect if Ashton did not personally bear the financial consequences.
Authorities said the ruling sends a clear warning that executives involved in cartel conduct may face significant penalties and other consequences, including the possibility of imprisonment in serious cases.
Qteq, based in Queensland, supplies equipment and technology services to the upstream oil and gas sector. At the time of the conduct, the company was a market leader in providing “gauge work” services, which involve installing monitoring systems in wells to measure water levels and control extraction rates in coal seam gas operations.
The ACCC initiated civil cartel proceedings against Qteq and Ashton in December 2022. The case forms part of several ongoing cartel investigations and enforcement actions pursued by the regulator in recent years.
