Fuel suppliers can’t hike prices on speculation
(CNS): The Utility Regulation and Competition Office (OfReg) has said that local operators are not allowed to increase the price of fuel based on speculation about the current oil market resulting from the sanctions against Russia.
But Chief Fuel Inspector Duke Munroe pointed out that the Cayman Islands has no influence over prices on the global market and, as the country braces itself for a significant increase in fuel costs in the coming weeks, we will need an adequate supply to reduce the pressure on prices.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine and the sanctions against Vladimir Putin’s regime, which includes US sanctions on Russian fossil fuel, will have an economic impact on fuel prices in the Cayman Islands, as America is Cayman’s main source of fuel.
Peter Gough, who was recently appointed as the Interim CEO at OfReg, said the regulatory body was monitoring the situation closely.
“With the United States halting trade with Russia following the recent military action against Ukraine, it is imperative we prepare ourselves for the prospect that fuel prices may increase,” he said.
“The US is initiating moves to open up reserves to try and balance any shortfall in supply, which should alleviate some pressure in demand globally. We will continue to keep an eye on their movements.”
Gough said that OfReg is working to mitigate the fallout from global events as much as possible, but Munroe pointed out that there was little Cayman could do about the price of fuel on the open market.
“Our prediction for price increases are contingent only on the potential inflated costs by our international suppliers, which continue to be independently verified by OfReg,” he said.
“The Cayman Islands is a ‘price taker’, meaning costs are influenced by the global market. While we can exert little to no moderation on prices offered at the overseas refineries, local operators will not be allowed to shift prices based on speculation.”
On Friday, the average price of fuel at the pump in the United States was soaring well pas US$4.33 per gallon, as experts warned of more record-breaking prices in the coming days.
In the Cayman Islands the cheapest gas this week, which is sold in imperial gallons 20% more than a US gallon, according to OfReg’s latest price list, was CI$5.17 of regular gas at the self-service pumps at three of the five George Town stations.
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boy, this aged like fine milk
It’s not speculation when the hikes are a product of organised collusion, and we should note that’s with the consent of OfReg.
Govt do as they ferl..supporting rich
In the Brac some Govt. Employee doesn’t own vehicle, they drive Govt vehicles everywhere, shopping, fishing, church/bars etc burning Govt gas and on weekends too, yes a lot is wasted in the Civil Service.
Every house in Brac has a govt vehicle!
Biden caused inflation and gas price hikes. No matter if he says it’s transitory or whatever. Now he wants to blame Putin who attacked 2 weeks ago. Give me a break. Unfortunately whatever happens in the US will affect us. From day one when he closed the Keystone Pipeline and approved buying oils from Russia everything went down hill. Once people realize or acknowledge that this is intentional you might have better understanding of what’s going on.
Wow, why don’t you try and educate yourself before posting. How awful you sound when such a horrific tragedy is happening in Ukraine. This is a global issue. Smarten up and stop being so mean and petty.
Price of gas is not really a global issue.
its about as global as you can get.
its like saying Global Trade is not a global issue
Not really. Local and regional factors dominate.
Your Cayman gas price depends on the US gulf refinery price almost entirely. That depends on the price of oil in the gulf and midcontinent US and Canada, which depends primarily on oil production volume in those areas and US refinery demand. Russia, EU and the Middle East don’t send or receive price-setting quantities. That could change now that Russia is dumping oil at a discount, except the US is not a buyer so it won’t matter in Cayman. Restraints on production in the US, pipeline constraints, and high inflation generally will probably cause your gas prices to rise further.
The robbing twat$ weren’t as quick to lower the prices when oil was negative a barrel in April 2020 were they. Scumbag$.
Did gas really decrease at all?
They can and will in Cayman . U watch its happening slowly already. The smell of greed everywhere
Beware the Ides of March. We have seen the price of gas escalate at the pumps but worse is to come. Why have the gas stations not warned us of likely prices of gas in forthcoming months. That can be calculated on today’s and future gas prices. Prices are unlikely to go down.
Moreover why are the utility companies not doing the same thing.. They all need to warn their customers now, not when price go up.
Finally surely OFFEG could help consumers.. These increase will push up costs even further whilst wages remain static. Perhaps it is time for the CIG to reduce gas duties and bear in mind the man in the street, as they will suffer the most.
8:17 pm, the problem when Govt. Reduce duties, is never passed on to consumers. In the Brac when Govt. took off duties on Gasoline the price at the pumps went up. And one station owner said, he didn’t know Govt took off the duties. So it only makes the station owners richer.
.
Where is OffReg when this sort of thing happens? If Government wants to help the people by reducing duty on certain items, it should MAkKE SURE the exact percentage of duty that would have been paid is lowered by the same amount for the customer at the pumps. Who is supposed to monitor this?
But, unfortunately, we know that gas station owners and their families and friends (who most probably get their gas great.y discounted) provide a lot of votes to present and prospective politicians and you know what that means!
Comment aged quickly. Oil down 30% in a week! You can’t calculate the price in “forthcoming months” LOL. “Futures” allow mkt participants to lock in a price at some point in the future, they don’t tell you what the price will be in the future.
Thanks for totally useless response to what Chris said.
OK LOL I’ll make it simple for you. You can’t calculate where prices are going to go like this guy claims any more than you could have calculated todays price 3 months ago. If our gas stations knew where oil/gas prices would be in the coming months they wouldn’t need to bother selling gas to us, they could make 1000 times more money trading on ICE/NYMEX!
So why is this interim role not able to be filled by someone in OfReg already? Surely someone there should be able to cover for the CEO when he/she is out of office for whatever reason – vacation, illness, etc.
Actually, is there not a Chief Operating Officer who was installed almost 4 years ago with the official line that he would “bolster key functional areas of OfReg including budgeting, procurement and human resources” https://caymannewsservice.com/2018/08/ed-ministry-chief-moves-to-ofreg/ ? He’s being paid Chief Officer pay; should know enough about the organisation to steer it for a short time.
“local operators are not allowed to increase the price of fuel based on speculation”. Not allowed? But they are free to set the price at whatever they want – there is no peg to their importation fuel costs, is there? And Ofreg has demonstrated it has zero ability or appetite to investigate pricing versus cost of fuel, or collusion. Pull the other one Duke, its got bells on it. The fuel stations will carry on charging whatever they think they can get away with and you will do absolutely jack to stop either that or any collusive pricing.
Yep, all they need to say is the price is increasing for other inflationary reasons.
Well when you have MPs that own gas stations…
exactly my thoughts… they aren’t allowed to increase price… but they will still go ahead and do it…because there are no consequences to them.
Is OfReg for the whole 3 Cayman islands, or is it only for Grand Caynan ?. For in the Brac Power & Light raises the fuel factor when ever they want also the Gas stations raises prices when they want.
@8:02 the sad truth is that this charity has not been extended to the majority in a similar position of age. And this is not anti PG but my God how’s he able to milk the sacred cow this long?
He’s not Caymanian. That’s why!
But PG would not be able to continue to milk the cow without the support of caymanians of the likes of Franz.
So don’t blame PG.
Incompetence abounds in our civil service, the majority of which are caymanian, including PG.
6:53 my goodness who peed in your Frosted Flakes?
Caymanians are doing an outstanding job in our civil service and the private sector. Stop being so jealous.
Give credit where it is due.
Happy to give credit where its due. Do you want to point out some examples? Can we also give criticism where its due too?
Peter Gough.
The same fella that helped to destroy CIG’s capability to produce financial statements. Aided and abetted by Tony Dale and George McCarthy, the 3 little amigos.
The last audited consolidated financial statements of CIG covered the year 2004.
The clown show continues at OfReg.
Thank you Kurt and Linford, 2 of the 3 big Amigos.
6.50 When did CAL last produce audited accounts? – years have flown by and still nothing but hot air.Someone up high needs to create some turbulence.
Remember the P P M Govt gave themselves big pay raises during the heft of the the Virus, while other countries was cutting their wages. So that goes to show that they only cares about themselves and not the other people, so Govt will not do nothing, for this Govt is just about the same, they accepted the big raise for themselves too.
Well, CNS, You have the BS meter in the right place……. Right by this article! There isn’t much difference between the facetious things that are brought forth by our government “operators”.
Ofreg is useless
oil goes up gas goes up, oil goes down gas goes up, oil stays the same gas goes up
I guess if OffReg says so, but does IffyReg carry any relevance anymore ? Kind of similar to how PACT has unraveled, – and anyway what is OffReg going to do if they become aware of any cases, ship them Dubai to last out their tenure ? 🚢⚓️
Please explain why it has jumped dramatically twice in the last month then…
Best press release ever issued by offreg. See what happens when you put a civil servant in charge!
Shut down these private sector run disasters down and return them to the civil service.
Good thing we get our fuel from the US and not Europe because US doesn’t really rely on Russian fuel. Also, it’s time now to get off fossil fuels.
It will go up quickly and fall twice as slow , as always
Fuel prices have been climbing well before Russia started with their invasion. This is Biden’s doing plain and simple. He killed the Keystone Pipeline, closed off Federal land and water drilling permits. With all the hostility to the energy industry – you get a lower supply. With a lower supply and without a corresponding drop in demand – you get a higher price.
If, 8:07, you read reputable journals such as the Economist instead of, like Trump, gluing yourself to Fox News, you would know that Presidents, including Biden AND Trump, have little control over things like inflation and gas prices and these items you mention (Keystone etc) are good for Fox to bash Biden with but have minimal effect on prices. What IS, however, significant (and NOT mentioned by Fox) is that Oil Companies are presently seeing record profits (with resultant bonuses for their executives) while consumers struggle with rising prices.
Dear 1:53:
I am the original posters
I work in the energy industry. I don’t need Fox, Trump, or specifically you to tell me a single thing as I have made my living navigating this market for decades. Oil Companies like any company benefit when their product increases in price. So, for the record – its Biden who is helping the oil industry profits and me as well. Trump had the US exporting oil, we would have been exporting LNG so Europe would not have to beg Russia to keep the heat on. But, again, you keep believing that less energy means lower prices – just don’t start teaching economics.
U.S. Imports of Crude Oil and Petroleum Products (Thousand Barrels) https://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist/LeafHandler.ashx?n=PET&s=MTTIMUS1&f=M
Those are the facts on imports.
And these are the facts on exports U.S. Exports of Crude Oil and Petroleum Products https://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist/LeafHandler.ashx?n=PET&s=MTTEXUS1&f=M
Those numbers are from the Energy Information Agency of the US Department of Energy. That’s why the agency was created – to provide the public with accurate information to counter propaganda from people like you.
The US has been a consistent importer and exporter for the past 20+ years
Donnie:
If you want to go into a long discussion on this you would also find out that while the US was exporting for a short time prior to Biden – the importation numbers you read at the EIA have a lot to do with the blending of lower grade crude oil from other countries. The shale oil in the US is a lighter grade of crude which is considered higher quality however, the refineries in the USA were built years ago with the majority of the oil in the US came from overseas imports. The equipment in the refineries needs a certain specific gravity of crude oil to operate efficiently – that is one reason the Keystone pipeline was so important so the heavy oil from Canada could be used to supplement the light crude from the US. If you will look back when Chavez (Venezuela) threatened to withhold their oil from the US – his advisors quickly told him to shut-up as the US refineries were about the only ones that could refine their oil outside of Venezuela’s borders.
CNS: Interesting context from Fox43 – Would the Keystone XL Pipeline have made up for Russian oil imports if the project was not cancelled?
And the NYT – Republicans Wrongly Blame Biden for Rising Gas Prices
Quote: Absent the Keystone XL pipeline, crude oil imports from Canada have nonetheless increased by 70 percent since 2008, transported by other pipelines and rail. The Trump administration itself told PolitiFact in 2017 that the pipeline’s impact on prices at the pump “would be minimal.”
This topic can run in many directions but turning off supply lines is sure to have an economic response. The KXL pipeline along with other imports makes its way into the refinery product stream. Many do not realize that crude oil does not have a replacement – at least not yet. Consider – the very road you drive to work on – asphalt, yes that is made from crude oil.
Fertilizers that are used in agriculture, yes that is from natural gas, a target for drilling as well.
The oil, lubricants, waxes, and even the plastics used as part of our daily lives all come from petroleum. So, when the price of oil goes up it has great consequences – and since it is traded as a global commodity – it has consequences across a broad spectrum of prices. Way more than just the price we see at the petrol station – for sure.
My goodness me! I didn’t realize we had a branch of the Retrumplican Party here in Cayman.
You are nuts. Take a look at the charts of gas prices over the past few years. They headed up as soon as Biden suspended leasing on federal land. Your claim of “record” profits is also false. One need only look at their financial statements to see this. No need to refer to Fox to get this information. It’s public record.
2:32, you must be looking at data from 2020 when, of course because of Covid, oil profits were non existent. Those of us with substantial energy investments have to keep abreast of things however and if you were to familiarize yourself with recent…very recent as in 2022….data, you will see that the poster @ 1:53 is correct. Profits are huge and many people ( not me of course) are unhappy about it. And yes, you’re right, it’s public record. But you have to keep up to date!
1:53 do yourself a favour and stop parading your ignorance for all to see.
Who shut down the Keystone Pipeline? I believe that was Biden….not Trump. Maybe you are glued to CNN and all their ilk.
CNS: You are arguing against no one. Biden stopped the KP. This is not the point of contention. I linked these articles elsewhere but it may be useful to read and absorb – unless you think Fox43 is part of the “ilk” – Would the Keystone XL Pipeline have made up for Russian oil imports if the project was not cancelled?
And the NYT – Republicans Wrongly Blame Biden for Rising Gas Prices
Quote: Absent the Keystone XL pipeline, crude oil imports from Canada have nonetheless increased by 70 percent since 2008, transported by other pipelines and rail. The Trump administration itself told PolitiFact in 2017 that the pipeline’s impact on prices at the pump “would be minimal.”
All true.
You’re absolutely correct. Plus he’s begging Venezuela and the Saudi’s to please pump more oil when our good neighbor Canada can’t send oil through the Keystone Excel Pipeline. Why are we supporting or begging bad foreign actors🤔 The dirty little secret here is that Biden has sold out to the the radical, green new deal wing of the Democratic Party to drive up prices and get everyone buying EV’s. There is one question though, where does electricity come from? Gas, coal, oil hmmmm…..😂😂😂
They should only be allowed to increase the price – if they buy the fuel to import in to Cayman after the war with Russia and Ukraine began.
If it was imported before this all started, then it shouldn’t be increased.
prices have gone up significantly in the last few weeks on fuel. probably before we have even had another delivery, CNS can you request when the last delivery was?
Still a lot cheaper than most of the world here. Amazingly.
Wait until the next ship arrives!
Not really. Just cheaper than much of Europe where the high prices are intentional.
“….local operators are not allowed to increase the price of fuel based on speculation…”
They already have…
Duty on gasoline is per gallon. This prevents the public from knowing what th delivered price or cost is.
In the US gas has hit an all time high. Just came back from the grocery store and a lot of items are increased close to $1.00. Hope that does not come your way as your prices are already high enough.
Noticed few weeks ago here same things buy alk the time increased by at least 1.00.
Peter Gough interim CEO of OfReg? You must be kidding!
When will Government get rid of this fossil? He is much too old to be employed with CIG any longer. Just cluttering up the infrastructure for some other young bright Caymanian.
He has screwed up much too much during his tenure and he knows absolutely nothing about anything. Came here originally as an O&M Advisor and just stayed.
Out, out damned spot!
Having a young bright Caymanian would be ideal as long as that young bright Caymanian is the best of all applicants avaliable. If there is someone from Zimbabwe that is superior at the craft then give me them. If you want the best you can’t limit the net you cast.
What a joke. What creditability does Peter Gough bring to OFREG, another one of Franz’s cronies and yes man. The reason why CIG can’t produce a consolidated set of annual accounts for the mar 15 plus years, and a failed public sector reform.
Who remembers Tony Dale and all the money that CIG paid him for consulting services. I’m sure we will see a consultant hired to turn OFREG around soon.
OK 8:02, You have a good point. So let’s put one of these bright young Caymanians there. I nominate Christen Suckoo, already employed at OfReg on a Chief Officer salary, or Mary Rodriguez, employed somewhere in Government doing ? also on a Chief Officer salary. Any other suggestions?
Sure, OfReg!
CNS – Like your graphics!
Is our fuel tax based on import price or is it set per gallon?
If prices are going to continue to rise why not a set duty per gallon? Or lower it?
They cannot reduce duties because the civil service has become so inefficient, wasteful, and eye-wateringly, expensive it cannot afford to refuse the flow filling the trough.
It’s by volume, not price.
Duty on fuel has been per gallon for a very long time. So CIG revenue doesn’t automatically increase or decrease with fuel price fluctuations.