The Chamber of Bulk Oil Distributors has asked petroleum consumers to be circumspect in their demand for decreases in fuel prices at the pumps.
According to the chamber, there are several factors that go into the computation of fuel prices before the ex-pump price is reached.
Crude oil prices saw about 30 percent drop on the international market following a price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia.
The Chamber of Petroleum Consumers, COPEC, has led the advocacy for a significant reduction in fuel prices locally to correspond with the margin of reduction in crude oil prices, even though the Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) have reduced fuel prices by 5 percent.
Speaking at a press briefing, the Chief Executive Officer of the Chamber of Bulk Oil Distributors, Senyo Hosi, explained that Oil Marketing Companies have been taking a hit for a long time, and would need a little space to recover their losses.
He stated that fuel has been selling at the pumps below the market price for almost seven months until February this year when prices took a sharp dip.
“The OMCs have been selling below market price, which will mean either they or the BDCs are giving away a good part of their margin and taking a hi. The truth of the matter is that significantly most OMCs benchmark their prices to the GOIL prices,”he said.
Mr. Hosi argued that because of how integrated GOIL’s operation is, it is able to reduce its price below the market level to attract customers, forcing other major oil companies to lower their prices to be competitive.
“That is the public truth and I think we have said it in our industry report before. That is why it is easy for you to see Shell, Total and GOIL often around the same price and you find the other ones actually going lower than all these people”, he added.
He stated that the situation resulted in OMCs selling below the price estimation of the National Petroleum Authority and the Chamber of Bulk Oil Distributors.