THE country’s net oil import bill shot up by 89 percent to $11.15 billion last year from $5.9 billion in 2020, reflecting an improved economic activity as quarantine restrictions eased.
The net import bill is the difference between oil imports and exports. In 2021, the total volume of petroleum products imported stood at 23.4 billion.
The Philippines imported 4.7 billion liters of crude and 18.7 billion liters of finished products in 2021. The cost of total imports stood at $11.7 billion last year.
Meanwhile, total export earnings reached $580 million, equivalent to 1.2 billion liters.
Of these, 100 million liters are crude and 1.1 billion liters are finished products.
The DOE requires a minimum inventory requirement for refiners—a combination of 30 days’ supply of crude oil and finished products. Bulk of oil suppliers and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) importers without refining capacity are asked to maintain 15 days’ supply of finished products and seven days’ supply of LPG.
The DOE’s Oil Industry Management Bureau (OIMB) Director Rino Abad said the strong demand for petroleum products was observed in 2021, as mobility increased.
Meanwhile, the same DOE data showed that Petron Corporation remained the largest oil firm with a market share of 19.2 percent, followed by Pilipinas Shell with 15 percent.
The market share of Caltex stood at 5.3 percent; Unioil, 7.1 percent; Phoenix fuels, 6.4 percent; and Seaoil, 5.5 percent.
Image credits: AP/Aaron Favila
