Pacific warned of fuel price rises

PACIFIC – The Secretariat of the Pacific Community is warning countries in the region to brace for an expected rise in fuel prices as ten months of dropping oil prices come to an end.

The Economic Development Division of the SPC says between July 2014 and May 2015 the Pacific saved US$1.5 billion based on total regional fuel volume.

However the SPC’s Petroleum advisor, Alan Bartmanovich, says many countries did not benefit from this reduction because of poor fuel price regulation systems.

In response to this, SPC is developing a “Pacific Islands Fuel Pricing Manual” to be launched during a regional renewable energy workshop in July in Hawai‘i. -