The party-list group Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers’ Association (LPG-MA) sees oil prices, in general, and cooking gas costs, in particular, falling some more amid strong downtrend.
Party-list Rep. Arnel Ty of LPG-MA, in a news statement, said “global crude-oil prices remain in a strong downtrend, so there’s still some room for the cost of LPG [Liquefied Petroleum Gas] to decline.”
The lawmaker, citing the latest Department of Energy (DOE) price- monitoring report, said the least costly LPG is now being sold for P382 per 11-kilogram cylinder, down 25 percent from P508 a year ago.
Ty, a senior member of the House Energy Committee, said, compared to 24 months ago, the current price of the least expensive LPG is down 50 percent, from P766 per 11-kg cylinder.
According to the lawmaker, world oil prices will likely stay depressed until June, when the 13-member Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) meets again.
“When Opec last met in December, it decided to keep producing oil at high levels—at around 31.5 million barrels of oil per day [BOPD]—despite a rising world surplus. Oil prices have since plunged from $40 to $30 per barrel,” he said.
Iran’s decision to export 500,000 BOPD following the lifting of economic sanctions by Western governments has only deepened the downward pressure on oil prices, Ty added. He added that the growing local market competition for LPG has been a “blessing to consumers.”
“The mounting competition for market share should assure Filipino consumers greater access to a stable supply of good-quality cooking fuel that is priced fairly—one that truly reflects the international contract price of LPG,” he said.
Ty said the Supreme Court has upheld Department of Energy (DOE) Circular 2014-01-0001, which sets new rules and regulations rigorously governing the LPG industry to promote competition and ensure adequate supplies at all times.
While the plunging price of oil continues to benefit consumers, the DOE has said there are also disadvantages that the low oil prices bring.
The DOE, in a BusinessMirror report, said lower oil prices stimulate oil consumption in the transportation sector, saying that, when this happens, an increase in greenhouse-gas emission follows, thus, contributing to global warming.
It added another negative impact, is “it makes alternative fuels and technology development uneconomical [but more important, falling oil prices] makes renewable energy less attractive and competitive.”
Acting Economic Planning Secretary and acting National Economic and Development Authority Director General Emmanuel F. Esguerra, in a separate BusinessMirror report, said that, as lower oil prices are seen to continue this year, the government must prepare for the possibility that some overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) may be sent home.
“Such developments could adversely affect OFWs, as the governments of the said economies implement austerity measures, cut back on subsidies, postpone infrastructure outlays and raise taxes,” Esguerra added.