June 26, 2018 | 10:25 pm
THE ENERGY department has pushed
back the target date for the importation of diesel fuel to July, or a month
later than it originally projected, as the agency continues to look for ways to
bring down fuel prices.
“I think there will just be a slight
delay,” Department of Energy (DoE) Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi told reporters on
Monday night, without giving a firm timetable for the shipments.
In late May, he said the DoE was
planning to source petroleum products from Russia and other countries that are
not members of the oil cartel, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting
Countries (OPEC).
The move was meant to “establish a
strategic petroleum reserve (SPR) to cushion the impact of the rising price of
oil in the international market.” A unit of the DoE’s corporate arm is to lead
the project.
On Tuesday, Leonido J. Pulido III,
assistant secretary at the DoE, confirmed the delay, saying the board of
Philippine National Oil Co.-Exploration Corp. (PNOC-EC) will discuss the
department’s recommendation at its board meeting only on July 2.
“It’s up to PNOC-EC if they’re going
to adopt the recommendation, but our recommendation is to have the sale and
purchase agreement executed within the next 10-15 days from the date of the
approval,” he told reporters.
“The project objective really is
it’s supposed to be targeted fuel relief,” he added.
Mr. Pulido said the move was
prompted by the continuous increase in oil prices and countering this by
bringing in more supply and providing lower-priced diesel or petroleum products
to “vulnerable sectors” such as transport groups and off-grid areas powered by
diesel-fired generation plants.
He did not identify the non-OPEC
member state from which PNOC-EC is supposed to buy the fuel.
Mr. Pulido said Russia is a possible
supplier “primarily because it was felt that there’s a very distinct
possibility, because of the good relationship right now, that we would be able
to get better prices.”
He said one of the recommendations
of the DoE is the sale of the fuel at below prevailing market prices.
“Otherwise, if they sell at the same
price, then the project objective will not be satisfied,” he said, adding that
the selling price target range is P34 to P36 per liter. — Victor V. Saulon
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