In the last three months about 250 thousand gallons of gasoline a day have entered Guatemala from Mexico.
The figures from the Guatemalan Association of Fuel Dispensers, are in the opinion of its director Jaime Matus, disturbing, as they represent an increase of 25% compared to the first months of the year.
This activity represents a loss of $64 million annually in taxes for the exchequer.
In the first half of the year, the oil bill reached $1,798 million, an increase of $490 million compared to the same period in 2010.
A rise in international oil prices coupled with an increase in gasoline consumption accounts for much of the country’s increased oil bill.
Gasoline consumption, particularly diesel, rose by 0.6% in the aforementioned period, while consumption of bunker fuel, used to supply ships, rose by 9%.
The companies that acquired the Shell and Texaco service stations are preparing for changes in operation.
Delta Petroleum of Panama, which last year bought the assets of Shell Costa Rica will invest $4 million in renovations and changes to the brand image, said Mauricio Barzun,general manager ofDelta Petroleum Costa Rica.
As of September, Shell service stations will have their name changed to Delta.
The fuel storage facility of Acajutla, El Salvador, will begin operations in April.
Spokesmen for Alba Petróleos de El Salvador, said that completion of the works is scheduled for February, and will last until March. The construction of the pipeline for ship loading and unloading is still pending.
"The secretary of Alba Petroleos de El Salvador and mayor of Soyapango, Carlos Ruiz, confirmed the plant will begin operations in April, and even though he said they will not sell at lower prices than the competition, the benefit is that other companies had to lower prices in order to compete with them," says Elfinancierocr.com.
The regulatory authority is investigating a new methodology for setting fuel prices.
The proposal would set a maximum selling price and gas stations could sell below that ceiling by way of discounts.
Currently, the Regulatory Authority for Public Services (Aresep) sets a single price for each type of fuel which the gas station must apply throughout the country, regardless of their sales volume.
The proposed new formula serving as reference for fuels could start in late January.
Carlos Aquilino Duarte, director of Hydrocarbons for the Ministry of Economy, stated that due to problems in the development of software for collecting and processing data, they had to postpone the start until the end of the month.
"According to the official, the most significant change in the new mathematical equation is the elimination of some additional costs such as fees when paying with credit card, which is part of the distributors cost. Another major change is that in the current formula the profit margins by both distributor and Oil Company are put together and divided later, but this mechanism has caused a series of problems between both parties. Now, profits are separated on the basis of a financial model establishing a rate of return, which is calculated based on the operating costs of both parties," reports the article in Elsalvador.com.
The Panama Pacific Special Area Agency is inviting companies to bid for the construction of a fuel facility at Howard Airport.
The contract includes the design, soil study, adjustments, construction, supply, installation, assembly, testing and final approved plans for a fuel system, auxiliary systems and all its components for storage and supply of aircraft at Howard airport.
From January to August, fuel consumption increased 14.5% over the same period of 2009.
According to the Comptroller General of the Republic, Panama also saw a 49% increase in imports of petroleum products.
"... From January to August 2010, 575 million 552,000 gallons of fuel were consumed. During the same period last year, 502 million 727 thousand gallons were consumed," Pa-digital.com.pa reports.
The investment, worth almost $2 million, will enable the fuel importer to open new stations by the end of 2010.
Puma Energy's General Manager, Juan Ángel Díaz, indicated that their expansion plan seeks to position the company as an alternative to traditional companies, particularly outside urban centers.
The executive told Prensa Libre that, "the company currently has 45 Puma branded gas stations located on main highways and some in the capital. By 2011 the pace of growth will be 10 stations, in order to compete on a similar scale to its competitors".
Airport authorities are preparing the bid documents for the supply of up to 250,000 gallons of fuel per day.
To date, four companies have been invited to tender offers: Ogden (current operator), Worldwide Aviation, Service Air and Aircraft Service International Group.
Juan Carlos Pino, airport manager, explained that, "rather than be for the most economic offer, this contract will be awarded for the best technical offer, since a great deal of experience is required," adding that an upper limit will be set for the price per gallon of fuel.
The government will subsidize 200.000 daily gallons of fuel to the country’s 26.000 authorized transportation agents.
After negotiating with transportation companies, the government agreed to pay for $0.35 of each gallon of regular fuel and $0.40 of each gallon of diesel. The measure will apply to taxis and inter-urban, inter-municipal and sea transportation companies.
ASDPP, the Salvadoran Association of Petrol Distributors, reported they only receive 60% of what they order.
Despite the complaints from this leading association of petrol distributors, the Economy Ministry (Minec) assured there are 5.5 million gallons of diesel oil available to the Salvadoran market.
ASDPP requested more involvement from the Ministry in overseeing the quality of fuel being sold to gas stations, because they believe Minec has made “very little” in this topic.
For the past two weeks, gas stations selling goods from Alba Petróleos are facing shortages.
Company representatives explained that the problem was caused by a delay in one of the ships which transport the fuels, but sector businessmen argue the situation started in a refinery in Curazao.
Elsalvador.com reported that “the shortage has been worse as of lately, as stations are almost out of stock, they only have what they buy from Texaco and Esso”.
The purchase of Shell's Salvadoran operations by Honduras' Grupo Terra could become official in March.
Representatives from the Salvadoran fuel distribution industry explained that the only step remaining is the approval of the Competence Superintendence (SC). This entity has until March 9 to comply.
"Since December 2009, the SC has been reviewing documentation provided by Shell and Grupo Terra.