The Philippines' net oil imports decreased in volume by eight percent as of end-November last year but cost soared compared to same period in 2004 after sustained increases in international oil prices.

The Department of Energy said in a statement that net oil import bill increased by 27 percent from $4.279 million in November 2004 to $5.436 million in the same period last year. In terms of volume, net oil imports fell from 107.9 million barrels in November 2004 to 98.9 MMB in 2005.

Consumption of petroleum products from January to November 2005 also followed a similar decrease by eight percent from 108.6 MMB in 2004 to 99.9 MMB.

Aside from the impact of high oil prices which restrains demand, the DOE said that the decrease in consumption could be attributed to the government's aggressive promotion of alternative fuels program such as coco-biodiesel and ethanol for the transport sector and its mandatory use for government vehicles.

The bulk of oil imports in 2005 went to the transport sector, with 4.3 million registered vehicles as of 2004. The transportation sector consumes 58 percent of all oil products.

The DOE reiterated that it is aggressively promoting the widespread utilization of alternative fuels for transport sector like coco biodiesel, ethanol and autogas to bring down the country's import bill and generate savings.

The bill promoting the use of biofules is expected to be passed by Congress in the first half of 2006, it said.

DOE added that estimates show the country could yield 95 million liters of avoided diesel a year by using one percent coco biodiesel blend in its diesel fuel requirements or P3.06 billion in foreign exchange savings.*

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