THE Energy Department is closely monitoring the local liquefied petroleum gas market to make sure that only reasonably priced LPG products are being sold to consumers.
This, after oil companies increased LPG prices by as much as P5.40 per kilogram or P59.40 per 11-kilo tank effective Feb. 1.
“Our Oil Industry Management Bureau is closely assessing the global trend of supply and demand, while also taking into consideration other factors affecting the prices of LPG,” Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi said in a statement.
Cusi said the hefty LPG price hike this month “was due to the increased demand by the cold weather continents such as North America, Europe and even Northern Asia.”
“LPG is primarily being used as a heating fuel in these regions, especially with the extended cold weather or winter attributed to La Niña,” he said.
“Large consuming countries are having a hard time getting their supply because even the transportation of these LPG products, mostly through railway, is also affected by the cold weather. This curbs supply, then affects the demand, and ultimately the prices,” Cusi said.
Cusi said rising global crude oil prices and outages of oil refineries in some oil-producing countries as additional factors for the rising prices of LPG.
“LPG is a by-product of crude oil and natural gas production. And with the global crude oil prices going up due also to the higher demand and curbed supply production from the Opec, any by-product would also increase,” he said.
The energy official said since more than 90 percent of the Philippines LPG supply is imported, “we must ensure that LPG products sold in the local market are reasonably priced, according to what actually is transpiring in the global market. This is how the government can protect consumers from these price volatilities.”
The oil firms also announced in increase in autoLPG prices by as much as P3 per liter.
