Saipan gas prices hit historic high

The price of Saipan’s regular unleaded gasoline hit a record high of $5.159 a gallon after Mobil Oil Marianas increased its pump prices Tuesday night, dwarfing gas prices across the United States and its territories at a time when island residents are dealing with work hour cuts, unemployment, and high utility costs.

Tuesday night’s 10-cent increase marked the fourth round of price hikes since January 2012, totaling 45 cents.

Super unleaded gasoline is now $5.479 a gallon on Saipan. Diesel now costs $5.519 a gallon.

The CNMI Division of Energy, which has been monitoring gas prices, said yesterday that the $5.159 a gallon of regular gas is the highest recorded in CNMI history. Other residents and government officials said they’ve never seen gas prices on Saipan this high.

Shell Marianas’ pump prices remained the same as of press time, but the two oil giants historically mirror each other’s price changes.

“This is too much, and it’s very sad for everyone. It seems like we’re working more to be able to buy gas and pay for our power, more than to buy food and other basic goods,” motorist Pilar Deleon Guerrero told Saipan Tribune in an interview at a Mobil service station in Garapan yesterday morning.

Deleon Guerrero, of China Town, said it’s about time households make a list of things to do and buy when they leave home to cut unnecessary trips for only one or two sets of errands. The mother of four hopes that gas prices won’t further increase.

“It’s not too long ago when they increased the prices. Here’s another one,” she said, adding that she only learned about the latest price increase when asked for this interview.

For those earning an hourly $5.05 minimum wage in the CNMI, they would have to work more than hour just to be able to buy the cheapest gas on Saipan.

Nick Mikel, 44, said the steady increase in gas prices is “hurting everybody.”

“But what can we do? Even the governor and the congressmen cannot do anything about it. It’s increasing not only here but other parts of the world,” said the unemployed father or two.

Because they have already cut cost in all other aspects of their household expenses, Mikel said he has learned a new way to cope with the ever increasing gas prices.

“I guess we just have to close our eyes every time we buy gas and not look at the price anymore,” he said.

If one thinks Saipan pump prices are already “too high,” think again, because its sister islands of Rota and Tinian—which are expected to also increase pump prices in the next few days—have the highest prices on American soil.

Average gas price in the United States on Feb. 28 was $3.682 a gallon, still much lower than Saipan’s pump prices of $5.159 to $5.519 a gallon.

Guam’s regular gas also increased by 10 cents on Tuesday night, pushing the price to $4.98 a gallon.

Among U.S. states, Hawaii still has the highest average price at $4.329 a gallon as of Feb. 28, followed by California with $4.318, Alaska with $4.124, New York with $3.948, and Connecticut with $3.928.

The states with the lowest average gas price as of Feb. 28 are Wyoming with $3.079 a gallon, Colorado with $3.149, Utah with $3.250, Montana with $3.255, and Idaho with $3.349.

Toom Stoffer, 45, said she has started using a motorcycle for months now to save on gas and save money. But the 10-cent increase yesterday, she said, is again eating up on her supposed savings.

“And I’m surprised that the prices went up again,” she said. Saipan gas prices went up by 15 cents only on Valentine’s Day.

Mobil and Shell do not issue advance notices for any gas price change. Officials from Mobil and Shell have yet to respond to media inquiries about the latest round of price increases.

Mobil earlier said that 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.

Rep. Stanley Torres (Ind-Saipan), chairman of the House Committee on Public Utilities, Transportation and Communication, said he has never seen gas prices on Saipan this high.

“Regular gas could have reached $5 before, but only a little over $5 and went back to over $4 immediately. I remember after the war, gas price was 10 to 15 cents a gallon,” he said.

Torres has long been asking the Office of the Attorney General to investigate whether Mobil and Shell are engaged in price fixing, and determine whether the prices they have been imposing in the CNMI are reasonable and reflect real market conditions. Torres said Mobil and Shell are quick to increase gas prices, but are either slow or do not lower prices once world prices go down.