MANILA, Philippines—As world oil prices continue to go down, bulk liquefied petroleum gas supplier Liquigaz Philippines Corp. and the LPG Marketers Association (LPGMA) reduced prices of their products effective 12:01 a.m. Tuesday.
Liquigaz brought prices down by P2 a kilogram, while LPGMA members slashed prices of cooking gas by P1 a kg and of autoLPG by P1 a liter.
Both suppliers cited the huge drop in the international contract price of LPG in December as the reason for the price cut.
LPGMA president Arnel Ty said the LPG contract price plunged to $341 per metric ton (MT) this month from $490 per MT in November.
Major oil firms Petron Corp., Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. and Total (Philippines) Corp. had yet to announce their own LPG price reduction as of press time.
Last month alone, LPGMA slashed prices by P12 per kg: by P3 on Nov. 1; P1 on Nov. 4, 7 and 11; P4 on Nov. 14 and P2 on Nov. 21.
An 11-kg LPG cylinder now costs between P429.40 and P495.40.
Gasoline price cut
Price cuts are also being implemented by oil companies.
Eastern Petroleum Corp. at noon Monday reduced prices of gasoline by P2 a liter and diesel by P1 a liter.
This effectively matched the price reductions of P5 a liter for gasoline and P2 a liter for diesel implemented by competitors Petron, Shell, Total, Chevron Philippines Inc., PTT Philippines Corp., Flying V and SeaOil Philippines Inc. over the weekend.
The weekend price cuts brought pump prices in Metro Manila of unleaded gasoline to between P29.57 and P36.15 a liter, diesel to between P32.47 and P41.50 a liter, and kerosene to between P39.15 and P45.15 a liter.
Dubai crude at $50/barrel
Data from the Department of Energy show that prices of the regional benchmark Dubai crude averaged $50 a barrel as of Nov. 26, shedding $17 a barrel from the October average of $67 a barrel.
The price of unleaded gasoline, based on the Mean of Platts Singapore (MOPS) benchmark for refined petroleum products, dropped to an average of $49 a barrel in the first 26 days of November from $80 a barrel in October.
MOPS-based diesel registered an average price of $74 a barrel in the Nov. 1-26 period, from the October average of $89 a barrel.
Motorists and transport groups have accused oil firms of being slow in cutting pump prices when crude oil costs slump and of being quick in raising prices when crude prices shoot up.
Reyes before commission
Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes, who is scheduled to appear before the Commission on Appointments on Wednesday, has been blamed for being inutile in forcing the Big 3 oil firms to reflect the steep drop in crude prices at the pump prices.
Petron, Pilipinas Shell and Chevron Philippines account for 80 percent of the market for petroleum products in the Philippines.
Cebu Rep. Eduardo Gullas, a CA vice chair, said he expected to “hear complaints against the reappointment of Reyes,” who has been on the Arroyo Cabinet since 2002 but has never been confirmed by the commission.
Under fire
Gullas noted that Reyes “has come under fire from various sectors, including cause-oriented groups and members of Congress, for failing to safeguard consumers from alleged pricing abuses by the Big 3 oil companies, both when crude oil prices were going up, and when prices were starting to fall.”
He pointed out that as energy secretary, Reyes also headed the Department of Energy-Department of Justice Task Force, which has been mandated under the 1998 Downstream Oil Industry Deregulation Law to check potential pricing abuses by oil firms.
“The Department of Energy has not been fully exercising its powers under the law to ascertain whether pump prices at any given time are fair and reasonable or excessive,” he said.
Gullas said Reyes had played deaf to demands of the public and lawmakers for the Big 3 to open their books to determine whether their profits were excessive. With a report from Gil C. Cabacungan Jr.
