Due to the upward cycle of the barrel international price, between January and August the country has bought $1.844 million in petroleum products, 22% more than in the same period of 2017.
Regarding this growth in the import amount, Enrique Melendez, executive director of the Guatemalan Association of Gasoline Dispensers, explained to Prensalibre.com that "...
From January to March of this year, countries in the region imported $2.262 billion worth of petroleum oils, 3% more than in the same period in 2017.
Figures from the information system on the Oil and Bituminous Minerals Market in Central America, compiled by the Business Intelligence Unit at CentralAmericaData: [GRAFICA caption = "Click to interact with graph"]
Due to discrepancies found in the proposal presented by Perenco, another tender will be held to grant the operation and administration of the Stationary Hydrocarbon Transport System in concession.
In its resolution, the Qualifying Board explained that some inadequate elements were identified in the Perenco proposal, which necessitate a new tender in the coming months. According to the document, Perenco Guatemala, the sole bidder in the process, did not set a deadline for the contract, even though the published tender conditions established a maximum term of 25 years, with the possibility of extension.
Perenco Guatemala, the current operator of the pipeline, was the only bidder in the tender to obtain the concession for the operation and administration of the Hydrocarbons Transportation Stationary System.
The contract to operate the system includes a 425 kilometer pipeline, five pumping stations and the Piedras Negras export terminal, in Puerto Santo Tomás de Castilla, and the model of the contract to operate and manage it will be for a maximum of 25 years, with an option to extend.
In Guatemala, companies interested in operating and managing the Hydrocarbons Stationary Transport System are invited to present their offers on June 15.
Representatives from the Ministry of Energy and Mines (Mem) stated that the Qualification Committee, which will be appointed by an agreement, will be in charge of receiving technical-economic offers from 9:00 a.m.
The Ministry of Energy and Mines reports that the process to tender the operation of the pipeline has been approved by the Attorney General's Office.
Without giving further details on the terms of the contract for the operation of the pipeline, currently the responsibility of Perenco, the Minister of Energy and Mines, Luis Chang, stated that the bidding process received a favorable ruling and is progress is being made.
After registering a reduction in Central America between 2012 and 2016, oil imports from abroad grew by 19% last year, exceeding $8.3 billion.
Figures from the Information system on the Oil and Bituminous Minerals Market in Central America, compiled by the Business Intelligence Unit at CentralAmericaData: [GRAFICA caption = "Click to interact with graph"]
A decrease has been reported in the number of gas stations owned by the state company, which in 2011 began an aggressive expansion plan in the country.
The perception that gasoline is of poor quality and that management of the business has not been the best, are two of the reasons to which, in part, the reduction in the number of gas stations owned by Alba Petróleos has been attributed.
In the last five years, the average price per kilo of petroleum oil imported by countries in the region fell by 46%, going from $0.96 to $0.52.
Figures from the information system on the Petroleum oil and Bituminous Mineral Market in Central America, compiled by the Business Intelligence Unit at CentralAmericaData: [GRAPHIC caption = "Click to interact with the graph"]
Alba Petróleos de El Salvador, daughter company of PDVSA, is no longer importing from Venezuela the fuel it sells in the country, doing so instead from the United States.
EDITORIAL
Removal of market rules in order to achieve political objectives, always has an inevitable expiration date.This is what is happening with the alleged exportation of the so-called Bolivarian revolution, through Venezuela's contribution of oil and its derivatives to economies with apparently similarly minded governments.While it is true that the current Maduro government still has the loyalty in diplomatic terms of some Latin American and Caribbean governments, which has prevented his condemnation through international organisms, in the economic sphere relations with these allies are cooling off without remedy.
The state run oil company in Costa Rica registered losses above $24 million during the first nine months of 2015, despite having the highest prices in the region.
In the first nine months of 2015 the Costa Rican Oil Refinery lost more than $24 million. The state run company, which has had a monopoly in refining and sale of fuels in Costa Rica for more than half a century, has payroll costs representing 56% of its total expenditure.
The accreted political left in Costa Rica is proposing that the oil bill that is being run up now, be paid for in the future by other generations.
EDITORIAL
Proposed by a legislative faction of the Frente Amplio party, the possible accession of Costa Rica to the oil alliance created by Venezuela, will not lower fuel prices automatically, but because of how the agreement works, it will mean financing oil purchases at rates that are just a little better than the current cost, simply to keep on increasing government debt, not to mention the political implications that could come from such a close relationship with the government of Venezuela.
Gasoline distributors are concerned about Petrocaribe's recommendation that the Salvadoran government be the sole manager of oil imports.
An urgent appeal to the Government for it to call together companies from the sector and clarify the implications of El Salvador's entry into Petrocaribe, has been the reaction of the distributors of domestic fuels, in light of statements by representatives of Alba Petróleos suggesting that the government should establish an entity to manage the purchase and import of hydrocarbon derivatives purchases.
There is still no official information about whether brand name distributors will be able to keep importing fuel from their source of choice.
The request for entry into the oil agreement with Venezuela marks the economic and political differences between the outgoing government of Mauricio Funes and that of the new President Sanchez Ceren, indicating a higher affinity for the conglomerate led by Venezuela.
Moody's is warning that countries with oil deals with Venezuela face risks if this country reduces or eliminates its financial support to the block.
A report by the rating agency notes that "In the countries of Central America and the Caribbean, the "most vulnerable" are Nicaragua and Jamaica, while less exposed are Honduras and Guatemala."
Moody's reached this conclusion after analyzing data from the current account balance of each member country, its dependence on oil imports, particularly on crude oil from Venezuelan.