Mr McKenzie said government approved both Texaco and FOCOL’s (Freeport Oil Company Limited) requests for increases due to escalating oil prices, which hit a record $72.20 a barrel yesterday, as Iran resisted world pressure to halt its nuclear programme.
“And you can expect Shell and Esso to request increases as well,” he said. “It is only a matter of time before their prices go up too.”
Presently, a gallon of Texaco gasoline in New Providence is selling at $4.31 cents, up from $4.02 yesterday. Texaco’s diesel is selling at $3.34 per gallon, up from $3.27 the day before. At Esso, a gallon of gas remains at $4.02 and Shell gas is the least expensive at $3.96. Diesel at Esso is $3.18 and $3.34 at Shell.
Mr McKenzie said FOCOL’s #87 grade gasoline increased by 37 cents from $3.80 to $4.17. Its premium gas jumped 77 cents from $3.73 to $4.50, and its diesel nudged one cent from $3.24 to $3.25.
The Chief Price Inspector also warned that if oil prices continue to soar, gas prices in New Providence could hit the $5.00 mark early this summer. This means that motorists in the Family Islands, such as Eleuthera and Abaco where the pump price is already $5 a gallon, could be paying as much as $6.00 in a couple of months. However, Rodney Eve, Manager at Texaco Service station on Prince Charles Drive, told The Guardian yesterday that he was not expecting gas prices to be near $5.00 by June.
“Five dollars sounds a little over-inflated,” he said. “Because even in the increases, we’ll have some decreases as well because the price fluctuates,” he explained.
When Shell, Esso and Texaco purchase a gallon of gas, they receive 33 cents on that gallon and resell it to their distributors, making an additional 44 cents. This means they receive a total of 77 cents on one gallon of gas before it hits the pumps.
In addition to the 77 cents mark-up, government collects $1.06 on Customs Duties, plus seven per cent stamp tax. Therefore, the total tax collected by government on a gallon of fuel is 113.42 cents.
Garner Dawkins, President of The Bahamas Petroleum Retailers Association, said nobody likes to hear news of higher gas prices but added that the government should not expect petroleum dealers reduce their margins.
“We can’t reduce our margins,” he stressed. “Crude oil prices are rising around the world and there’s nothing we can do about it.”
He added that the mark-ups in Bermuda and Barbados were higher than The Bahamas’ mark-up.
Touching on PetroCaribe, an energy pact that The Bahamas signed in principle with Venezuela to reduce the cost of fuel, Mr Dawkins said the deal would be good for The Bahamas.
“All we are saying is that we’re not going to change our mark-ups. But if PetroCaribe can bring the initial cost down, go for it. I never was against PetroCaribe.”
On June 29, former Trade and Industry Minister, Leslie Miller, joined twelve other Caribbean leaders in signing PetroCaribe. However, unlike some of the other Caribbean countries, The Bahamas has yet to ratify it.
By: MINDELL SMALL, The Nassau Guardian
