With motorists still trying to absorb the shock of high fuel costs, Minister of Trade and Industry Leslie Miller on Thursday warned consumers to brace for gas prices that are expected to shoot as high as $7 per gallon on some islands by the end of the month.
“This is hurting the average household and it’s going to continue to hurt,” he advised. “There’s not much we can do about it unless we implement fully what could take place with regard to the Petrocaribe initiative, but we shall wait and see what happens there.”
Minister Miller, who called a press conference on the issue, also told reporters that motorists in New Providence are expected to see prices over $5 per gallon.
“I want to say to the Bahamian people again, as I’ve said before, the next shipment of fuel coming into The Bahamas will be retailed at probably no less than $5.50 and as high as $7 per gallon [on Family Islands.] So I want them to get ready for that.”
Minister Miller explained that Hurricane Rita is to blame.
“Hurricane Rita is out there now in the Gulf Coast of the United States. Ten of the major oil refineries that produce oil in the United States, that produce a third of the fuel in the United States, are centred around those Gulf States which are Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas and Oklahoma.”
He indicated that six of those rigs have been closed and the other four were expected to be closed before the end of the week.
“God forbid if that hurricane were to hit them head on. It would probably take them about 30 days or about three months to get them back up and running,” Minister Miller said.
He indicated that while most of the country’s oil is coming through Venezuela, it is “invoiced” through Texas.
“So even though the oil emanates from Venezuela, the sister company in Texas would make up the purchase order from Venezuela and that’s the invoice we would get,” Minister Miller said. “So whatever affects the Gulf Coast of America, that price would be reflected at prices at the pumps in The Bahamas.”
He said motorists must begin taking drastic measures to cope with the situation.
“Again, it’s going to be imperative that Bahamians severely limit their driving habits,” Minister Miller said. “They should carpool as much as they can.”
He noted that public transportation operators are “clamoring” to increase their fares “and rightfully so.”
“How do you expect for the mail boat operator, the taxi driver, the jitney operators [and] the tour drivers to absorb these costs?” Minister Miller asked. “It’s not possible. This is why we continue to say that this is a serious, serious problem that must be addressed head on because it affects every sector of our economy.”
He also advised consumers to brace for higher electricity bills.
“Don’t forget that the same hit you take is the same hit that BEC is going to take with diesel oil because diesel oil has gone up too,” the Minister said.
“It’s those jitney drivers who are going to catch eternal hell as these increases continue.”
On Thursday, Shell announced that its price per gallon of gasoline, which stood at $4.77, was being reduced to $3.99.
Luis Curti, country chairman at Shell, explained that the company was making the move because it is a good corporate citizen that wanted to help the consumer.
But Minister Miller said Shell had no choice because it was losing customers who were heading to Esso and Texaco, where fuel was significantly cheaper.
Texaco also announced earlier in the week that it was absorbing 90 percent of its acquisition costs increase on its latest fuel shipment.
Minister Miller said by the end of the week, he expects Esso to follow suit and lower its prices. On Thursday, gasoline at Esso stations was priced at $4.45 per gallon.
Texaco stations were charging $4.03.
By: Perez Clarke, The Bahama Journal
