PHL oil imports not from conflict-ridden countries — DOE

The Department of Energy said Tuesday the present unrests in the Middle East and North Africa is not going to disrupt the local oil industry since the affected nations are not Philippine oil supply sources. “In 2010, our crude oil importations were sourced from Saudi, UAE, Qatar, Oman, and Iran," the Department said in a statement. The Middle East accounts for 81 percent of Philippine oil imports, it said, adding that imports from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations accounts for 12 percent and Russia, 7 percent. “Imported products were also mainly sourced from neighboring Asian countries, except for LPG" (liquefied petroleum gas), which was 40-percent sourced from Saudi, Qatar, and UAE, according to the Energy Department. Countries now in a state of political turmoil are Libya, Yemen, and Bahrain, following the recent unrest that toppled the heads of states of Egypt and Tunisia in recent weeks. — VS, GMA News