Boycott the Big Four (Petron, Shell, Chevron, Total)= Cheaper Local Oil Prices?

[Jun aka Pekto]

Some gas prices at major world cities from LA Times:

Gas prices in world cities
City Reg. price in USD/gal.
Oslo 9.85
Paris 9.43
Copenhagen 9.24
Rome 9.03
London 8.96
Berlin 8.68
Hong Kong 8.05
Seoul 7.33
Sao Paulo 6.38
Tokyo 6.30
Singapore 6.13
Nairobi 5.94
Sydney 5.57
Montreal 5.57
Vancouver 5.50
Santiago 5.18
Toronto 4.98
Mumbai 4.94
Bangkok 4.78
Los Angeles 4.57
Johannesburg 4.41
Moscow 3.90
Havana 3.75
Buenos Aires 3.56
Beijing 3.40
Mexico City 2.62
Dubai City 1.70
Cairo 1.24
Kuwait City 0.92
Riyadh 0.47
Tehran 0.41
Caracas 0.12
Sources: AIRINC, Energy Information Administration

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-f...,2489191.story

I'm not sure where Philippine gas prices fall within that list. But, are they really out of line with the rest of the world?

Add: Mexico still has gas less than $3/gal. Maybe I should fill up over there. The border's about an hour away.

[CVT]

Manila (Philippines) is approx $5.1/Gal.....

Binato na nga ng Gabriela ng mga tsinelas ang opisina ng Petron....

6404:pump:

[CVT]

Manila (Philippines) is approx $5.1/Gal.....

Binato na nga ng Gabriela ng mga tsinelas ang opisina ng Petron....

6404:pump:

[jpdm]

Some gas prices at major world cities from LA Times:

Gas prices in world cities
City Reg. price in USD/gal.
Oslo 9.85
Paris 9.43
Copenhagen 9.24
Rome 9.03
London 8.96
Berlin 8.68
Hong Kong 8.05
Seoul 7.33
Sao Paulo 6.38
Tokyo 6.30
Singapore 6.13
Nairobi 5.94
Sydney 5.57
Montreal 5.57
Vancouver 5.50
Santiago 5.18
Toronto 4.98
Mumbai 4.94
Bangkok 4.78
Los Angeles 4.57
Johannesburg 4.41
Moscow 3.90
Havana 3.75
Buenos Aires 3.56
Beijing 3.40
Mexico City 2.62
Dubai City 1.70
Cairo 1.24
Kuwait City 0.92
Riyadh 0.47
Tehran 0.41
Caracas 0.12
Sources: AIRINC, Energy Information Administration

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-f...,2489191.story

I'm not sure where Philippine gas prices fall within that list. But, are they really out of line with the rest of the world?

Add: Mexico still has gas less than $3/gal. Maybe I should fill up over there. The border's about an hour away.

Cross-country analysis is very difficult to do.Its just to many variables (must have equal weights/significance/similarities) to consider. The point is, think tanks here in the country has proven that the BIG OIL companies are NOT LOSING MONEY.

By the way, when the deregulation law was passed, all oil companies specially the big three are required to go public. Only Petron offered its shares to the public via an IPO in 1995 I think. Shell is blatantly violating the law for it refuses to go public. The DOE or PGMA is not even lifting a finger about this mockery of the law perpetrated by this multinational called Shell.

Baka may tinatago.

[jpdm]

House leader urges probe of oil profits
Golez sees collusion by Big 3 on pricing
By Christian V. Esguerra
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 01:02:00 07/22/2008





MANILA, Philippines—A member of the House of Representatives Monday called on the Commission on Audit (COA) to scrutinize the books of the country’s “Big Three” oil companies (Petron Corp., Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. and Chevron Philippines) amid what he said were signs of collusion against public interest.
Senior Deputy Minority Leader Roilo Golez said it was better if the COA conducted a “thorough and independent audit” of the oil firms, not the joint task force of the energy and justice departments.
The special task force Monday began an investigation of allegations that the oil firms were manipulating retail prices by raising them almost every week.

Salazar said the task force had obtained an independent university study on fuel prices and audits of earnings of the oil firms.


The oil firms said they were just keeping up with the global rise in crude prices and that they had lost money by delaying increases.

Big mystery
In a resolution, Golez said a public audit of the financial operations of the oil companies was imperative in view of the impact on the economy of the oil prices set by the firms.
“It has been a big mystery to me how the oil companies manage to announce nearly identical prices at almost the same time, although their cost structures are different,” Golez said in a text message.


The price cut was made in response to an appeal from President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who is struggling with record low popularity ratings.
“With more reason Congress should compel the oil companies to open their books and reveal their mysterious pricing mechanism,” Casiño said.
Cebu Rep. Eduardo Gullas on Sunday said that Shell and Petron alone raked in almost P70 billion in net profit since the Downstream Oil Deregulation Law was passed 10 years ago.
Petron, which is partly owned by the government, earned P35.18 billion from 1998 until the first quarter of this year, while Shell accumulated P33.59 billion during the same period, according to Gullas.
Excessive
He said Chevron last reported a net profit of P2.75 billion two years ago.
Golez said the COA should determine if the Big Three “have earned excessive profits from the time crude oil prices went up beyond $70 per barrel” in the world market.
[SIZE=3]He said the COA should also determine “why and how, in spite of significant variances in cost structure, they are (still) able to sell oil products at almost identical prices and raise prices at almost the same time.”[/SIZE]


No sign of violation
But this early, the joint task force said the oil firms were not engaged in any illegal act.
Salazar said the data gathered so far provided no sign of “violation of any of the laws we have right now against predatory pricing, cartelization and unfair competition.”
Since January, the oil firms have adjusted prices of diesel, the fuel used by jeepneys and buses, by 22 times for a total of P24.


With reports from Agence France-Presse; Abigail L. Ho and Riza T. Olchondra in Manila; and Niña Catherine Calleja, Inquirer Southern Luzon

Nagbubulag-bulagan kasi gobyerno. Alam nila na patented oligopoly ayaw silang gumawa ng paraan siguro dahil sa tongpats.

High oil prices here is definitely unjustifiable.

[Monseratto]

Manila (Philippines) is approx $5.1/Gal.....

Binato na nga ng Gabriela ng mga tsinelas ang opisina ng Petron....

6404:pump:

They were something like 20-30 GABRIELA protesters and 40-50 media journalists covering them...and they made it to the top of the evening news. That's the "masa" against oil profiteering.

[theveed]

So the only time the oil companies are not "profiteering" is when they lose money? :rofl01:

[niky]

Yeah, it was quite funny watching the news... The news teams are covering rallies against the "big oil companies" which are only 20-50 people strong... fifty people isn't a rally. It's a gang.

RE: EVAT: Oil: removing the EVAT on petroleum products takes away a lot from the government coffers. Yes, I don't like the 12% tax rate on EVAT, either, but that extra money we pay is helping settle the country's debt.

And part of that money is going back into GMA's subsidy program for the poor (although such direct doles are completely unsustainable).

RE: Profit: Empy's right.

It's not the amount of money they make. It's the return on investment.

These accusations of overpricing were being hurled at private schools years ago, when tuition fees were deregulated. That we were in it only to profit. Duh? If you don't make a profit, you can't improve services. Yes, private school prices are steep, but in order to buy equipment, hire good teachers and maintain facilities, you need money.

But then... they said... how come public schools like UP can give good service for cheap?

Hah!

The government subsidy on one UP student before Congress cut our legs was equal to the tuition fee of many private schools. That's the subsidy, mind you... beyond what the student was paying. Include the tuition fees of the student, and the total amount would pay for study in La Salle and Ateneo... which are really expensive schools, by the way, compared to most others.

Now that the subsidy is being scaled back, look at UP tuition now. It's getting damn expensive.

So... us private schools are profiteering? Ha. Yes, we make money. Millions a year, in the case of our school. But the total investment in the school is in the billions... and our return on investment is probably around 10% (during Erap's time, it was around 5%... that sucked... good thing we survived). If we'd invested those billions in time deposit, we would have earned 12-15% a year instead.

If oil companies only earn 10%... that's not profiteering... that's just average. But people are pouring a ton of money into oil investments now simply because the business seems like it will be the only stable one for the next few years, as the rising inflation (due to Chinese demand and Dollar weakness) will start hurting other businesses.

-----

Here's the bottom line, though.

Best case scenario: We all boycott the "big 4" stations (although since when Total became "big 4" is beyond me... they're still not much bigger than SeaOil).

We drain the reserves of the small stations to the point that they have to raise prices, too.

The local "big 4" outlets suffer. Local labor, gas boys, security, middle management, all Filipinos, suffer. Until, that is, that demand from the small stations becomes big enough that Petron and Shell don't need their own stations... they'll just close their retail outlets and sell to the small guys.

But the producers selling crude worldwide won't notice a thing.

So... what does it accomplish?

Boycott, rally... they're all knee-jerk reactions to something we can't control. Cheap oil is dead. While the dire predictions of oil running out within this decade no longer seem possible, what is certain is that oil prices will never go back down.

Instead of wasting time and energy trying to blackmail oil companies into making oil cheaper (and, in effect, making it run out quicker, too)... why don't we do something more useful? A selective boycott just changes the route your money goes... but in the end, it'll still go to the oil producers. Why not just look for alternatives to driving? Don't drive when you can commute. Don't commute when you can bike. Don't take a tricycle or Jeepney when you're just a 15 minute walk from your destination (I always do this when commuting).

For public utility drivers, it's even more important to learn conservation. Don't idle too long... waiting 15 minutes for just one more passenger is a waste of gas. Coordinate your TODAs and JODAs better. The more efficiently you can cover your route, the less fuel you waste on waiting (some bus companies already coordinate their fleets so that they don't have overcoverage of certain stops). Limit ODA memberships. How can any of you make a profit if there are more vehicles plying the route than passengers?

If you want to do something that makes a difference for the world, and for the country, be frugal. Spend your money where it counts.

[mazdamazda]

So the only time the oil companies are not "profiteering" is when they lose money? :rofl01:

Goes to show the *selective* thinking being done by some so called activists.

It's pretty much useless to *debate* with close minded people...

[uls]

They were something like 20-30 GABRIELA protesters and 40-50 media journalists covering them...and they made it to the top of the evening news. That's the "masa" against oil profiteering.

Baket lagi may media coverage ang mga activist? halos kalahati ng airtime ng TV patrol napupunta sa coverage ng mga activist.

----------------

Nakakatawa nga yung "rally" ng Gabriela.

Ang konte lang nila, puro mga manang...

Yan lang ang kaya ng budget ng Gabriela hehehe

pamasahe, pagkain...

Times are hard even for activists.