THE country’s net oil import bill reached more than $5 billion in the first half of 2018, 19.5 percent higher than a year ago, data by the Department of Energy (DoE) showed. Figures showed the net oil import bill, or the difference between oil imports and exports, amounted to $5.6 billion in the first six months of the year from $4.7 billion in the same period a year ago. In 2017, the country’s full-year net oil import bill amounted to $8.9 billion, up by 29.5 percent from $6.89 billion in 2016. “This was attributed to the combined effects of higher import cost and higher volume of product imports vis-à-vis last year,” the department said in its Oil Supply/Demand Report for 2017 released earlier this year. Sought for comment, DoE’s Oil Industry Management Bureau (OIMB) director Rino Abad attributed the higher net oil import bill to the government’s Build, Build, Build program and the “more active economy,” specifically from the industries that utilize oil.

Source: Manila Times August 28, 2018 17:59 UTC