Every week, fuel prices continue to rise. In fact, since the start of 2022, fuel prices have already gone up PHP 8.00 for gasoline and almost PHP 11.00 for diesel.
Brace yourselves, because the possibility of a fuel supply disruption is not far from becoming a reality within the next few months. In other words, we might be experiencing another fuel supply shortage.
Just recently, the Department of Energy (DOE) has announced that they are organizing a task force to create a contingency plan to address the possible internal and external oil supply disruptions that the country may face.
DOE-Oil Industry Management Bureau assistant director, Rodela Romero, has said during the recent Laging Handa briefing, that they are coordinating with relevant agencies to be able to draft an oil contingency plan for the Philippines.
“The DOE is in close coordination with the Philippine National Oil Co. (PNOC) and other government agencies to determine the level of demand or requirements of different sectors, like the transport sector and other industries, to be able to draft the oil contingency plan,” Romero told reporters in Filipino.
Romero also added that oil supply disruptions are happening across the globe, which is the primary reason for the sky-rocketing fuel prices. She also cited the ongoing tensions between Russia and Ukraine, maintenance and repair works of the oil pipeline in Libya, explosion in Nigeria, and oil spills in Ecuador and Kazakhstan as some of the reasons why fuel prices continue to go up.
The DOE added that the oil contingency plan is among the measures in the pipeline until such time the country is ready to put up its Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) program where the Philippines will stock up on fuel to meet the country’s energy demands even when there is a crisis that can affect the supply of imported fuel.
Though the DOE did not say or confirmed that a disruption in the supply of imported fuel is imminent, it is wise to be prepared and have alternative means of transportation should a fuel crisis arise.
