Published
July 23, 2018, 10:00 PM By Myrna M. Velasco
On sizeable downswing
of oil prices globally, the cost-per-liter of gasoline products at Philippine
pumps had been slashed by P0.70 this week; diesel products by P1.00 per liter
and kerosene by P1.25 per liter.
The price cuts enforced
by the companies had been lower than earlier projections of P1.00 to P1.30 per
liter, including the simulations coming from the Department of Energy.
As of this writing, the
oil companies that already reduced prices include Pilipinas Shell Petroleum
Corporation, PTT Philippines, Seaoil, Eastern Petroleum, Flying V, Phoenix
Petroleum Philippines, Inc., Jetti and Chevron which carries the Caltex brand.
The price rollbacks
will be implemented 6:00 a.m. Tuesday (July 24), based on price adjustment
notices sent by the oil companies to their dealers and retail networks.
Prices in the
international market have softened last week due to assurance of production
boost from major producers, such as the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting
Countries (OPEC) and Russian-ally producers; plus the enhanced inventory of the
United States.
Given instances of such
hefty reduction in prices, caution is being raised on the government’s plan to
spend as much as P2.0 billion still on proposed importation of diesel.
In particular, on the
assessment of Senate Committee on Energy Chairman Sherwin T. Gatchalian, the
proposed sourcing of diesel products offshore may turn out a risky business
proposition given market price swings and the logistics chain that Philippine
National Oil Company-Exploration Corporation may need to comply with.
The lawmaker posed a
question if it would really be “wise for government to go into petroleum business?”
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