EU antitrust authorities raided the offices of several companies in Germany involved in the supply, transportation and storage of natural gas, amid fears of a sharp rise in prices in Europe, AP reported.

The European Commission, which is responsible for EU competition policy, did not name the companies that were the targets of the March 29 surprise inspections. But antitrust authorities are scrutinizing the actions of Russian energy giant Gazprom, which has offices in Germany, in the European market.

The EC suspects that the companies violated EU competition rules prohibiting the abuse of dominant position in the market.

Russia is the largest exporter of oil, natural gas and coal to the 27 EU countries. About 40% of the gas imported by the bloc comes from Russia.

In January, the head of the International Energy Agency blamed Russia for Europe's natural gas crisis, saying high prices and low storage levels were largely due to Gazprom's suspension of supplies.