The Philippines government has been forced to import oil by the rising in-house demand that took its oil industry bills to $8.8 Billion in 2007 from $8.0 Billion in 2006.
According to the data released by the Department of Energy (DoE) in the Philippines on April 1, 2008, the country imported $8.8 Billion worth of oil last year, moderately up from $8.0 Billion imported in 2006, as reported by Inquirer.
The Oil Industry Management Bureau, a segment of DoE, gave figures of total imported oil, which reached 120.1 Million barrels in 2007 in contrast to 119.3 Million barrels in 2006. Net oil import stood at 101.4 Million barrels in 2007, making total bills of $7.5 Billion. Besides, per day oil consumption in 2007 also went up marginally with 287,000 barrels against 276,500 barrels in 2006.
The steep rise in the oil import bills last year in the country was partly pushed up by the high global oil prices and demand. This spurt in demand of oil was driven by boom in the Filipino economy. Besides, people become conscious about their lifestyle and status, which increased the sales of new vehicles, and thus, oil demand.
Also, the industrial growth in the Philippines is putting pressure on the national oil reserves that are insufficient to meet the country’s oil demand. Hence, the country is bound to import oil from other countries.
However, the government is taking measures to reduce reliance imported oil and as part of its measures, it passed Biofuel Act passed in 2007. But the emergence of food crisis raised the question on the implication of diverting food for making of biofuels.
Moreover, the DoE observes import oil bills will remain high in the first few months of 2008 compared to the same period in 2007 because global oil prices are making new records of price rise. First three months of the year have already witnessed record jump.
According to a Research Analyst at RNCOS, “High domestic demand for oil is tightening its grip on the Philippines economy as oil prices are strikingly high in the international market. So the government is forced to import oil to fulfill its domestic demand. Hence, the government should encourage people for using biologically-developed fuels like biodiesel and biogas which are relatively cheaper and environmentally-friendly.”
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