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Energy dept. releases rules for oil price cap


The Department of Energy (DOE) released regulations covering a presidential order that puts a cap on oil prices. The Department of Energy’s circular 2009-10-0013 directs all oil companies and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) industry players to “retain or reduce the prices of their refined petroleum products, specifically gasoline, diesel, biodiesel, kerosene, and LPG, actually prevailing at the pump in the case of gasoline stations, as of October 15, 2009." Once the circular becomes effective, these same companies are also required to provide within 24 hours a list of their gas and LPG outlets in Luzon, including prices of all their products as of October 15, 2009. Oil companies also need to submit to the Department of Energy a daily inventory of their petroleum products. Fuel prices will remain at the said levels until the Executive Order [839] is lifted or revoked by the President of the Philippines," the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) said. The energy department also issued a memo to the DOE-Department of Justice (DOJ) Task Force to monitor the EO’s implementation. The same document also directed the task force to act on any complaint within 30 days. For its part, the LPG Marketers Association (LPGMA) asked the DOE to establish a suggested retail price (SRP) for LPG products. Without a standard retail price (SRP), LPG retailers may be prompted to “follow the high end of the price range," LPGMA president Arnel Ty said, citing the big price range between retailers and wholesalers. A recent $57 per metric ton (MT) in commodity prices already translates into a rise of P3.50 to P4 per kilo, he explained. “We will follow the EO. Thus, we will not increase our prices. But we do not have an SRP. So we may have to follow the highest price at the market," he said. A standard 11 kilogram LPG tank currently sells at P530 to P580 each. In the meantime, pump prices in Visayas and Mindanao have gone up. Effective October 28, Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. and Eastern Petroleum Corp. (EPC) hiked prices by P2 per liter for diesel, P1.50 per liter for unleaded gasoline, and 85 centavos per liter for regular gasoline. Starting midnight of Friday, Phoenix Petroleum Philippines, which mainly runs outlets in Mindanao, will charge more for its fuel products. Diesel per liter sold by the company will be P1.65 more expensive while gasoline will be higher by P1.70. Flying V also said that it has raised prices in “selected trading areas as competitive action" at the same level as Phoenix Petroleum. No such adjustments were made by Petron Corp. in its outlets in Visayas and Mindanao. - GMANews.TV

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