THE National Government is bracing for prices of petroleum products to increase by more than P2 per liter within this week following a drone strike on Saudi Arabia’s major oil facilities.
Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi said his office is closely monitoring the situation.
“We are seeking to ensure that the energy family will be sufficiently prepared to face the potential impact of this unfortunate incident, if any, on the country,” Cusi said in a statement.
The drone strikes against Saudi Arabia’s key oil sites on Saturday, Sept. 14, 2019 prompted the Department of Energy (DOE) to convene an emergency meeting on Sunday afternoon, Sept. 15, with its personnel at the DOE’s headquarters in Taguig City.
“Rest assured that the DOE, together with the entire energy family, is closely monitoring the situation, and it will keep the public properly informed of developments on the matter,” Cusi said.
In an earlier report, the attacks on Saudi Aramco’s facilities wiped out over half of Saudi Arabia’s production capacity and cut about five percent of the global oil supply, causing double-digit jumps in global oil prices when the markets closed last Sept. 16.
Estimated price increases this Tuesday, Sept. 24, could range from P2.40 to P2.60 per liter for gasoline, P1.70 to P1.80 per liter for diesel and P1.80 to P1.90 per liter for kerosene, ABS-CBN reported.
An accountant told SunStar Cebu that the price hike would affect her household. If it lasts several days, prices of basic commodities will also increase.
The DOE’s latest oil price monitoring last Sept. 17 stated that the common prices of gasoline ranged from P51.82 to P52.82 per liter, while the price of diesel was P43.64 per liter in Cebu City.
In Mandaue City, the common prices of gasoline were P52.29 to P54.80 per liter while for diesel it was P44.80 per liter on the same day.
These prices were higher compared to the DOE monitoring last Sept. 10, which showed that common gasoline prices in Cebu City ranged from P50.47 to P52.10 per liter while the common price for diesel was P42.79 per liter.
In Mandaue City, the common prices of gasoline were P52.45 to P53.45 per liter while for diesel, it was P43.95 per liter.
The DOE in the Visayas is monitoring pump prices of Petron Corp., Chevron Philippines (Caltex), Pilipinas Shell and independent oil companies Total, PTT, Phoenix, Flying V and Seaoil. (JOB)