Fuel supplies, prices unaffected by Suez Canal blockage
MANILA, Philippines — Oil supplies are safe and rising prices are not bound to get higher even after a mammoth container ship got stuck and blocked one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes.
The good news is that the Ever Given ship reportedly was started to get lifted after running aground last March 23 during a stormy weather. The Philippines, as net oil importer, sees no reason to get worried supplies from abroad will get delayed.
“Oil supply routes for the Philippines don’t go through the Suez Canal,” the energy department said.
Oil firms were likewise unperturbed. “We’re not affected yet because mostly crude oil passes through that. (Local) oil companies most import finished products sourced from Asia,” said Fernando Martinez, chair of the Independent Philippine Petroleum Companies Association, an industry group.
That said, even the Philippines’ lone refiner, Petron Corp., is not seeing any problems. “We wish to assure the public that there will be no supply disruption from our end,” the company said when sought for comment.
“Petron has enough product inventory to support our domestic requirements especially in this critical time,” it said in an email.
Assurances of a stable oil supply is welcome, especially after fuel has started becoming a source of inflation since last month, compounding tight pork supplies. The Philippines imports over 80% of its annual oil requirements abroad, but it does so from countries like Saudi Arabia and Qatar that do not use Suez Canal to ship oil to Asia.
Inflation, as measured by the consumer price index, hit 4.2% year-on-year in February, the highest in over 2 years.
Higher fuel costs prompted the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to hike its inflation forecast for the year to also 4.2% this year, falling above its self-imposed 2-4% target for 2020.
Beyond oil, Sergio Ortiz-Luis, Jr., president of the Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc., said he has so far heard "no complaints" of difficulty shipping out goods from the group's members.
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