WIOC CEO says uncertainty in the international oil market is driving local fuel-price hikes and advises residents to conserve

Gregory Georges, the Chief Executive Officer of the West Indies Oil Company Ltd. (WIOC), says it is unclear, at this time, whether fuel prices will return to more affordable rates in the near future. 

From Monday, June 13, motorists began paying more at the pumps for gas and diesel: $17.50 and $ 17.25 per gallon, respectively.

And while many residents are taking the hikes as a hard blow, Georges is advising them to conserve as much as is possible.

Georges says Russia is the world’s third-largest oil-producing country, after the United States and Saudi Arabia. It is the biggest exporter of gas and, for the last 10 years, has been seen as the most promising exploration and development destination, he adds.

The CEO says that Russia provides 40 percent of Europe’s energy supply; therefore, the war in The Ukraine has put investors on edge.

Georges notes that oil traders do not know what to expect, following this unprecedented loss of oil production – which was estimated at about 11 percent of the global output before the sanction on Russia. Therefore, he says, the industry is in turmoil.

This is having an impact on other countries worldwide, Georges says, and Antigua and Barbuda cannot escape it.

WIOC buys fuel on the international market, he says, and the war – coupled with other issues – has forced local price increases.