No fuel price rollbacks seen for the rest of August, says DOE exec

A sigh of relief following the several weeks of consecutive pump price hikes is not at hand for the rest of the month amid the supply tightening by top oil producers Saudi Arabia and Russia, an official of the Department of Energy (DOE) said Tuesday.

Interviewed on PTV’s Public Briefing, DOE-Oil Industry Management Bureau Director Rino Abad said the projected supply shortage could reach 2.8 million barrels per day in August.

With this, “Walang aasahan na rollback ngayong month of August (There is no expected rollback this month of August).”

Effective Tuesday, local fuel firms hiked the prices per liter of gasoline by P1.10, diesel by P0.20, and kerosene by P0.70. 

The latest adjustments marked the sixth straight week of hikes for gasoline, and the seventh for both diesel and kerosene.

“Ito po ay talagang pinangungunahan ng effect ng pagbabawas ng supply, hindi lang ng Saudi [Arabia] kundi kasama na po ang inaasahang pagbabawas ng Russia,” Abad said.

(This is primarily due to the effect of supply reduction, not only by Saudi Arabia but also the anticipated supply cut by Russia.)

Since July 18, the DOE official said the prices per liter of petroleum products have already increased by P8 to P10.

Abad said a joint memorandum circular is being reviewed to implement the P3-billion fuel subsidy program to ease the effect of rising oil prices on the public transport sector.

The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has earlier said that a memorandum circular signed by concerned agencies is needed before it can release the fund for fuel subsidies of public utility vehicle (PUV) drivers and operators.

Signatories in the joint circular are the departments of Energy, Transportation, and Budget.

Apart from the fuel subsidy program, Abad said motorists should also take advantage of the promotional discounts being implemented by oil companies.

For a long-term solution, the DOE official said the Philippines should develop its own indigenous oil and gas industry to reduce dependence on importation as the country imports 100% of its import requirements.

Abad said the DOE is already facilitating investments in oil and gas exploration, but said it will take 10 to 15 years before a working facility can become operational. —KG, GMA Integrated News