Oil firms raise pump prices anew

MANILA, Philippines—Several oil companies on Friday again raised the pump prices of petroleum products  to reflect the continued surge in oil prices in the world market.

Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. jacked up the prices of premium gasoline by 80 centavos a liter; regular gasoline by 30 centavos a liter; diesel by 50 centavos a liter and of kerosene by 40 centavos a liter. Chevron Philippines, Petron Corp. and Total Philippines also implemented the same price increases Friday, except for regular gasoline, whose price rose by 25 centavos a liter.

The oil price hike was the second this week. Last Wednesday, the same oil companies increased the prices of all petroleum products by P1 per liter, much lower than that of independent player Eastern Petroleum, which raised gasoline prices by P1.75 a liter and kerosene and diesel by P1.50 a liter.

Energy Undersecretary Jose M. Layug Jr. had said that a second round of increase this week was highly expected from the oil companies that raised prices by only a peso, as the Department of Energy’s own computations showed close to P2-a-liter increase in gasoline.

Those that have implemented a much higher increase like Eastern Petroleum are not expected to make another price adjustment.

The surge in global and local oil prices was blamed on the ongoing tensions in Iran, which had threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz, a key sea oil trade route in the Arabian Gulf. This is a crucial, significant concern for the Philippines since the country sources roughly 70 percent of its crude oil from the Middle East.