Almendras mulls review of oil firms' reportorial requirements

MANILA, Philippines - Amid rising petroleum prices, Energy Secretary Jose Rene Almendras may hold another round of review of the oil deregulation law to put more teeth on the reportorial requirements of oil firms.

“I, for one would like to know how much oil/fuel go into the country. We are completely dependent on what we are told by the companies,” he said.

At the same time, Almendras said he would be proposing a possible cooperation arrangement with the Saudi Arabian government on strategic reserves.

“We are sending a group to an oil ministers meeting around February in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia because there is a proposal that we want to submit to the Minister of Oil of Saudi Arabia regarding strategic reserves,” he said.

The government had been regularlyreviewing the Oil Deregulation Act of 1998 every time there are continuing oil price movements in the country.

President Aquino had earlier directed Almendras to look into the rising petroleum prices and see to it that the impact on consumers will be cushioned.

Under a deregulated industry, government is prohibited from intervening on oil market pricing.

For mere monitoring purposes, the Department of Energy (DOE) issued a circular requiring oil companies to inform the agency at least one hour before they implement a price adjustment.

At present, oil companies are only required to inform the DOE of any impending adjustment in their prices hours before implementation without disclosing their inventory levels.

“We cannot just depend on the data of the oil companies. The DOE will have to know the level of their inventory. If we will be able to determine their import declaration, then we will also know they inventory. We will have a better position given that data to determine pricing,” he said.

But Almendras was quick to point out that they are never considering an option to revert back to a regulated industry.

 “I don’t think that going back to the regulated industry is an option for us right now. I was trying to calculate how much money do I need to put up a stabilization fund if I’ll start buying oil and put up a strategic reserve and how much money do I need to be able to influence the market,” he said.

The DOE chief said a review is necessary to allow them leeway to implement reforms and programs for the industry.