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Shell follows Mobil’s 10-cent price hike on Saipan
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Posted on Feb 04 2012
By Haidee V. Eugenio
Reporter
Reporter
Crude oil price dropped below $97 a barrel on Thursday amid mixed signals about demand in the United States even as Shell Marianas and Mobil Oil Mariana Islands’ pump prices on Saipan went up by 10 cents a gallon.
Shell increased its Saipan pump prices yesterday, mirroring Mobil’s price changes on Wednesday.
Pump prices on Rota and Tinian are expected to follow suit and could inch closer to $7 for diesel, one of the highest gas prices in the U.S. and its territories.
Shell and Mobil’s regular unleaded gasoline on Saipan is now $4.909, while super or premium is now $5.229 a gallon.
Diesel remains at $5.319 a gallon.
Jovy Omar San Nicolas said a 10-cent increase will further force her to limit her trips, and cut on other expenses.
“We should really make every trip worth it because gas price is high,” she told Saipan Tribune as she was buying $20 gas at a Shell service station in Puerto Rico yesterday. “I am disappointed it went up again.”
Collin Duenas, 19, said paying more for gas will be tough, considering that he earns only the minimum wage of $5.05 an hour as a part-time employee.
His hourly earning is less than what he now pays for premium gasoline, which is $5.22 a gallon. He drives a pickup truck. He lives in Kagman but has to drive a distance to go to his work in Susupe, Puerto Rico, and Gualo Rai.
“I am spending about $30 for less than a week and a 10-cent increase will be a big difference. I try not to do strolling anymore. If I have to use my truck, it’s mostly to go to work and go back home,” he added.
Prices of gasoline are determined by a number of factors, including changes in the world market wholesale prices of gasoline, regional gasoline supply and demand balance, transportation costs, insurance, local distribution, marketing costs, government regulations, taxes, competitive market forces, and investments in retail stations and distribution terminals.
In the CNMI, Mobil and Shell do not issue advance notice of price changes. Motorists only know about the changed prices when they check the price displays at service stations.
