The country’s net oil import bill surged 31 percent in 2018 to $12.116 billion from $9.256 billion in 2017, according to the Energy Department.
Data showed that the total oil import bill jumped 31.8 percent to $13.478 billion last year from $10.228 billion in 2017. “This was attributed to the combined effects of higher import cost and increased import volume of crude oil vis-à-vis last year,” the department said.
Total oil import cost was made up of 54.5-percent finished products and 45.5-percent crude oil.
Total import of crude oil amounted to $6.138 billion, up by 41.8 percent from $4.330 billion in 2017 on higher cost insurance freight price of crude oil per barrel to $71.587 in 2018 from $55.774 in 2017.
Finished product import cost went up by 24.4 percent to $7.339 billion at an average CIF cost of $75.216 per barrel from $5.9 billion at a cost of $60.548 per barrel in 2017.
Petroleum exports earnings also rose 40 percent to $1.361 billion in 2018 from $972.5 million in 2017. Average dollar rate for 2018 was placed at P52.670 compared to 2017’s average rate of P50.834.