DOE sees another fuel price rollback

MANILA, Philippines —  Motorists may see another round of fuel price cuts next week as global oil prices remain steady despite the United States’ blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, energy officials said yesterday.

Energy Undersecretary Alessandro Sales said prices in the Mean of Platts Singapore (MOPS), a key benchmark for refined petroleum products, have continued to ease over the past two days.

“Even with the pronouncement of (US President Donald) Trump that he stationed his warships at the opening of the Strait of Hormuz, apparently the market is not pricing that in,” Sales told reporters.

If the market trend holds, he said Filipinos could see more stable fuel prices or even another rollback at domestic pumps next week.

Amid an implied threat of legal action, oil firms complied with the government-calculated rollback this week, with diesel, gasoline and kerosene prices dropping by at least P20.89, P4.43 and P8.50 per liter, respectively.

Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Sharon Garin said the ceasefire in the Middle East has helped calm prices in global markets. She expressed hope that no “very drastic or very violent” developments occur.

“If one ship was hit, then the market also reacts. The price will increase in the international market. Whatever happens in the international market is reflected in our prices the following week. So that’s the danger,” Garin said.

While energy officials did not disclose the two-day MOPS average, an industry source told The STAR that diesel prices could fall by P14 to P15 per liter next week, while the cost of gasoline may decline by P1.50 to P2.50 per liter.

The ceasefire has helped ease the risk premium on MOPS prices, although final adjustments will still depend on the three remaining trading days.

Industry experts have warned that the rollback could be short-lived after Trump threatened to blockade “any and all ships trying to enter, or leave, the Strait of Hormuz.”

Domestic pump prices remain elevated amid ongoing disruptions in the critical maritime chokepoint, which typically carries around 20 percent of global oil and gas supplies.

As of April 10, the Philippines had 50.31 days’ worth of fuel inventory, latest Department of Energy data showed.

Diesel arriving

By the end of the week, a fresh shipment of 300,000 barrels of diesel is set to arrive, according to the DOE. The final batch is scheduled for delivery before the end of April.

The shipments form part of the 1.042 million barrels that the Philippine National Oil Co. (PNOC) ordered last month. The first and second batches, with a combined volume of over 400,000 barrels, arrived in late March and early April.

The third batch will come from North Asia and India and is expected to arrive by mid-April.

The last batch, another 300,000 barrels, will be delivered by the end of the month from Oman via Singapore.

Sales said the supplies will arrive at a port somewhere in Davao to spread out buffer stocks nationwide.

The PNOC has also secured the delivery of 22,000 metric tons of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), set to arrive in the second or third week of May.

Sales said this was the “first volume” of LPG orders made by the PNOC. He did not elaborate.

It was earlier reported that 66 million kilos of LPG, or 66,000 metric tons, are set to arrive between May 15 and June 1, based on information relayed by the DOE to Regasco president Arnel Ty. These deliveries will come from the US, Canada and Mexico.

But Ty said the Bureau of Customs (BOC) continues to collect excise taxes on incoming LPG supplies despite President Marcos’ suspension order.

“The BOC still didn’t receive the executive order from Malacañang,” Ty told The STAR yesterday when asked about the BOC’s explanation for its move.

“Regasco is absorbing the P3-per-kilogram excise tax because we already implemented its removal on our selling price,” Ty said.

US permission

Meanwhile, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel Romualdez have asked Washington to extend the temporary lifting of restrictions on Russian oil, which expired on April 11.

Petron, the country’s sole refiner, purchased 2.48 million barrels last month, enough to last until June.

The US suspended its sanctions in March against procurement of Russian and Iranian oil, as the Middle East war and subsequent blockade in the Strait of Hormuz crippled energy supplies.

Garin warned that the US might hold Petron liable if the Philippines does not secure permission. “We have to respect the rules of diplomacy,” she told “True FM” yesterday.

The DOE chief, however, lamented the “irony” of having to seek approval from one of the countries that started the Middle East war.

“Our oil industry and the economy of the country are at the mercy of the United States of America,” Garin said.

Also in the interview, Garin said she’s not ruling out the possibility of asking oil companies to submit weekly unbundled pump pricing.

“Our adjustment is every week. [Prices] are increasing or decreasing every week. If DOE wants, we can ask for an [unbundled report] every week also,” Garin said.

The DOE’s deadline for the sought-after computations already lapsed on Monday. The department only requested unbundled prices for a certain period that Garin did not disclose.

The DOE has not identified companies that have complied with the order.

The computations will provide the public with insights into how firms arrive at their pricing.

Some groups are accusing the oil firms of earning huge profits from the crisis.

The unbundled reports will also serve as DOE’s audit mechanism to ensure customers are charged properly.

Police at gas stations

In a related development, police have beefed up their presence at gasoline stations in Metro Manila to ensure smooth implementation of the government’s P10 per liter fuel subsidy for PUV drivers.

Philippine National Police chief Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. said police units have established help desks to address concerns of PUV drivers TO ensure real-time response.

“Through help desks on the ground, we aim to ensure that PUV drivers and operators receive not only fuel subsidy assistance but also immediate support for their concerns,” Nartatez said in a statement.

Meanwhile, the country’s power transmission services continue to operate without interruption despite the Middle East war, according to the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines.

NGCP spokesperson Cynthia Alabanza yesterday said the conflict has no “direct impact” on transmission networks, as their operations do not rely on fuel.

NGCP revenue management head Julius Ryan Datingaling, however, reported a modest increase in the overall average transmission rate.  – Emmanuel Tupas