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CRUDE
oil was little changed near a record in New York on
concern gasoline production in the
US
may be insufficient to meet peak demand during the
summer driving season.
US
refineries operated at 85 percent last week, down from
89 percent a year earlier, the Energy Department said
Wednesday.
Worker
productivity in the world’s biggest energy consumer
climbed at a higher rate in the first quarter than the
previous three months, the Labor Department said
Wednesday. On the same day oil jumped to a record
$123.93 a barrel.
“People
are more focused on the idea that we may have more
demand than we expected,” said Jonathan Kornafel, a
director for
Asia at Hudson Capital Energy in
Singapore. “That’s going to be a big problem, with the
refinery runs being as soft as they are for this time of
year.”
Crude
oil for June delivery was at $123.52 a barrel, down 1
cent, at 11:32 a.m. in Singapore in after-hours trading
on the New York Mercantile Exchange. On Wednesday
futures rose $1.69, or 1.4 percent, to settle at $123.53
a barrel, the highest close since trading began in 1983.
Prices
have climbed 98 percent in the past year on concerns
that supplies from outside the Organization of Petroleum
Exporting Countries are declining, as demand from China,
India and the Middle East has increased.
“This is
the time of year when prices would normally be taking a
breather, the lull between the winter peak and the
summer peak in the Northern Hemisphere, but we’re not
seeing that happen,” said Gavin Wendt, a senior
resources analyst at Fat Prophets in
Sydney.
US
gasoline demand typically peaks from Memorial Day on May
28 through Labor Day in September as holiday travel puts
cars on the road.
Price
gains were tempered after Exxon Mobil Corp. said it was
working to reduce the effect of supply disruptions after
a strike in Nigeria caused a halt in exports from the
fifth- largest oil exporter to the US. (Bloomberg)
*****
Government rights on Petron pushed
By Butch Fernandez
Reporter
SEN. Mar
Roxas II, warning of a fast-approaching four-day
deadline, insisted that the government must exercise its
right of first refusal to buy back the 40-percent Petron
shares that Aramco offered to the Ashmore Ltd.
hedge-fund group and sell it to another “strategic
investor.”
Since
Finance Secretary Margarito Teves indicated the there
are not enough funds to bankroll a buyback, Roxas
clarified his recommendation does not mean that the
government will have to put up the money. He cited
reports that officials have admitted that the Philippine
National Oil Co., which owns another 40 percent of
Petron, “can assign its first refusal option [on the
Aramco shares] to another interested party.”
“By
friendly hands, we are referring to companies that have
access to crude oil, such as those from
Brunei,
the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia and other
oil-producing countries, or who, otherwise, have
petroleum operations,” Roxas explained.
“Friendly hands could also include Filipino companies,
or those with long-term interests in the
Philippines,”
he added.
In a
statement, Roxas reiterated his plea for the government
to consider offers for the purchase of Petron shares
even as he noted that it has only four days left before
its right of first refusal on the 40-percent Aramco
shares in Petron expires.
“All
these offers could have come earlier had the Executive
branch been clearer and more transparent on where our
strategic interests lie,” he said. “Until now, we really
don’t have an energy plan that would indicate how the
Petron deal fits in with our oil supply requirements.”
According to Roxas, the government, as represented by
the Department of Energy and the PNOC, must “be mindful”
that its decision on the Petron stake comes at a time
when there is great uncertainty on the supply and price
of oil.
“It has
four days left, and the government has to immediately
tell the public what it plans to do with its option to
buy back the 40-percent stake of Aramco in Petron so it
can resell it to a company that has a stake in the
country. Our people deserve to know what the government
plan is and why,” he added.
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