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After the weekend price hike of P1.50 a liter by
Shell and Total, Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes said other oil
companies will not follow suit as they have not issued any advisory
as required by law.
Reyes on Monday assured that
these oil companies will not raise their prices, at least not so
soon.
Besides, he said, consumers can
always buy from those that sell at lower prices. According to him,
market competition remains healthy.
“We are not endorsing anybody.
What we are saying is [for people] to exercise their freedom of
choice,” Reyes told a press conference held at Manila Hotel.
When asked if there is basis for
Shell and Total to hike oil prices, he replied, “Whether they have
basis or not, it’s about business decision. All I know is that
they [have] under-recoveries in diesel.”
When also asked if nuclear energy
is now seen as an efficient and economical energy source, Reyes said
that the idea needs to be debated on first.
Oil prices rose also on Monday in
London trading as rebels sabotaged two pipelines in Nigeria, a major
exporter of crude.
Brent North Sea crude for
September climbed 89 cents to $125.41 a barrel.
New York’s main contract, light
sweet crude for September delivery, advanced by 92 cents to $124.18
a barrel.
The rebel Movement for the
Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) claimed that it had sabotaged
two Shell pipelines in southern Nigeria overnight.
In an e-mail, it said “heavily
armed” MEND fighters had attacked the pipelines at Kula and
Rumuekpe operated by Shell Petroleum Development at 1:15 a.m. (8:15
in Manila).
Contacted by Agence France-Presse,
two Shell spokesmen said the claim—and the extent of any
damages—was being verified.
Word of the sabotage came after
the release on Saturday of eight foreign workers who had been
kidnapped near a major oil export terminal in southern Nigeria with
no ransom being paid.
The oil-rich Niger Delta has seen
numerous kidnappings targeting foreign energy firms, claimed by
militants demanding a greater share of oil wealth for the region’s
inhabitants.
Violence in the southern region
has reduced Nigeria’s total oil production by a quarter since
January 2006.
Nigeria was Africa’s biggest
oil producer until it was overtaken in April by Angola, according to
figures from the Organization of Petroleum-Exporting Countries.
--Yhella Miraran And AFP
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