ALARM bells are ringing worldwide with indications crude oil prices are set to reach the $US200 mark per barrel and Papua New Guineans have been warned to reassess their fuel consumption habits.
They have also been told there is nothing the Government or the consumer watchdog, the Independent Consumer and Competition Commission (ICCC), can do to cushion the effects of massive fuel price increases.
With that warning, consumers can expect to pay more for food items in the months ahead. Also, workers can expect the threat of some being laid off because their employers cannot make enough money to pay their wages.
InterOil, the countryТs fuel refiner and supplier, has indicated alarm bells are ringing worldwide and consumers are entering a new era where everyone will need to reassess their fuel using habits.
A major company has indicated it may start laying off some of its employees as fuel prices shoot up again this month to previously unimagined rates.
Port MoresbyТs largest taxi company, Comfort Taxies which employs nearly 60 drivers, says nearly half of those drivers will have to be put off the payroll.
Owner Nathan Milyo said he is spending K10,000 to K15,000 on fuel every week, something he says he can no longer accept and will consider laying off some of his drivers because much of the money is spent on fuel.
УAfter almost five years operating this business, this is the worst thing that has happened to my business,Ф he said. УPlease, I beg the Government to do something about it, like help me subsidise the cost of fuel,Ф he added.
ICCC has announced that petrol will be selling at K4.06 toea per litre in Port Moresby after an increase of 25 toea from last monthТs price. Diesel has increased by 36 toea per litre to K3.97 toea a litre while kerosene is selling at K3.79 a litre after increasing by 38 toea. Fuel prices for other parts of the country are expected to be much higher than Port Moresby.
Commissioner Thomas Abe said InterOil calculated the Import Parity Price (IPP) of fuel supplied from its Port Moresby Napa Napa refinery based on the interim pricing agreement it has with the Government. He said the IPP for this month was influenced by the endlesly escalating price of crude oil, the international shipping freight rate and the average monthly exchange rate of the kina against the US dollar.
While the ICCC sets the wholesale and retail margins on an annual basis, InterOil does changes to the IPP every month under the interim pricing agreement it has with the Government.
The IPP for this month is K2.59 per litre for petrol after an increase of about 22 toea a litre and K3.06 a litre for diesel after increasing by almost 33 toea. KeroseneТs IPP increased by about 35 toea a litre to K2.96 per litre.
After taking into consideration the IPP, excise duty, domestic freight charges, wholesale margins, retail margins and a 10 per cent goods and services tax (GST), the retail fuel prices for this month were set.
InterOil president Bill Jasper has described the effects of the soaring crude oil prices as widespread and indiscriminate.
УThe forces of international supply and demand are running riot and fuel prices are shooting sky-high,Ф he said.
Mr. Jasper warned that the worldwide trend dictated that consumers were entering a new era where everyone would need to reassess their fuel using habits.
He also said the worldТs biggest energy banker, Goldman Sachs, had estimated that crude oil prices could rise to $US200 a barrel within a year.
УI reiterate, neither the ICCC, the Government nor InterOil is responsible for the powerful worldwide forces that determine the price of crude oil on the international market.
They have also been told there is nothing the Government or the consumer watchdog, the Independent Consumer and Competition Commission (ICCC), can do to cushion the effects of massive fuel price increases.
With that warning, consumers can expect to pay more for food items in the months ahead. Also, workers can expect the threat of some being laid off because their employers cannot make enough money to pay their wages.
InterOil, the countryТs fuel refiner and supplier, has indicated alarm bells are ringing worldwide and consumers are entering a new era where everyone will need to reassess their fuel using habits.
A major company has indicated it may start laying off some of its employees as fuel prices shoot up again this month to previously unimagined rates.
Port MoresbyТs largest taxi company, Comfort Taxies which employs nearly 60 drivers, says nearly half of those drivers will have to be put off the payroll.
Owner Nathan Milyo said he is spending K10,000 to K15,000 on fuel every week, something he says he can no longer accept and will consider laying off some of his drivers because much of the money is spent on fuel.
УAfter almost five years operating this business, this is the worst thing that has happened to my business,Ф he said. УPlease, I beg the Government to do something about it, like help me subsidise the cost of fuel,Ф he added.
ICCC has announced that petrol will be selling at K4.06 toea per litre in Port Moresby after an increase of 25 toea from last monthТs price. Diesel has increased by 36 toea per litre to K3.97 toea a litre while kerosene is selling at K3.79 a litre after increasing by 38 toea. Fuel prices for other parts of the country are expected to be much higher than Port Moresby.
Commissioner Thomas Abe said InterOil calculated the Import Parity Price (IPP) of fuel supplied from its Port Moresby Napa Napa refinery based on the interim pricing agreement it has with the Government. He said the IPP for this month was influenced by the endlesly escalating price of crude oil, the international shipping freight rate and the average monthly exchange rate of the kina against the US dollar.
While the ICCC sets the wholesale and retail margins on an annual basis, InterOil does changes to the IPP every month under the interim pricing agreement it has with the Government.
The IPP for this month is K2.59 per litre for petrol after an increase of about 22 toea a litre and K3.06 a litre for diesel after increasing by almost 33 toea. KeroseneТs IPP increased by about 35 toea a litre to K2.96 per litre.
After taking into consideration the IPP, excise duty, domestic freight charges, wholesale margins, retail margins and a 10 per cent goods and services tax (GST), the retail fuel prices for this month were set.
InterOil president Bill Jasper has described the effects of the soaring crude oil prices as widespread and indiscriminate.
УThe forces of international supply and demand are running riot and fuel prices are shooting sky-high,Ф he said.
Mr. Jasper warned that the worldwide trend dictated that consumers were entering a new era where everyone would need to reassess their fuel using habits.
He also said the worldТs biggest energy banker, Goldman Sachs, had estimated that crude oil prices could rise to $US200 a barrel within a year.
УI reiterate, neither the ICCC, the Government nor InterOil is responsible for the powerful worldwide forces that determine the price of crude oil on the international market.