AMMAN — The Kingdom’s bill for
crude oil and its derivatives increased by 43 percent
over the past year. The foreign trade data issued by the Department of
Statistics on Monday shows that the value of the oil bill amounted to about
JD1.836 billion in 2021, compared to JD1.283 paid in 2020.
اضافة اعلان
Crude oil accounted for the largest share of the
Kingdom’s total imports of oil derivatives, reaching about JD747 million,
followed by gasoline, JD452 million, diesel, JD390 million, liquefied gas,
JD208 million, lubricating oils, JD27 million, and kerosene, about JD11
million.
Economic expert
Wajdi Makhamreh said that during the
pandemic, the volume of oil consumption decreased, but the return of economic
activity and the beginning of winter increased demand for oil derivatives.
Makhamreh added that in light of the
Russian-Ukrainian crisis, the government fixed the prices of oil derivatives
for two months, which is a political decision, and urged the government to
reduce the tax on oil derivatives because it constitutes a burden on consumers
and industries.
Oil expert
Mubarak Al-Tahrawi said that Jordan
imports 100,000 to 110,000 barrels of crude oil per day and 180,000 barrels of
oil equivalent (energy in all its forms), and that Jordan is one of the
countries affected by the rise in the global price of oil.
... the return of economic activity and the beginning of winter increased demand for oil derivatives.
Tahrawi added that prices may witness a significant
increase if the
Russian-Ukrainian crisis escalates. He pointed out that “the
rise in Jordan’s oil bill last year by 43 percent is due to the rise in prices
in general and oil in particular”.
Energy expert Hashem Aqel said that the main reason
for the global rise in oil prices is the continuous rise in prices, the return
of economic activity, the decline of the virus, and lack of supply.
“OPEC has tightened control over supply and demand
and set quotas for all its members, and all producers adhered to these quotas,
which led to a sharp reduction in the quantity supplied, and thus prices
increased,” he said.
“OPEC is no longer able to produce the quotas
prescribed for its members due to weak investments. Perhaps the main factor for
raising prices are the geopolitical tensions that occurred in the Gulf and then
in
Eastern Europe, and we are witnessing the results of this tension these days
in the sharp rise in oil prices,” he added.
Ministry of Energy and Mineral ResourcesSpokesperson Mashhour Abu Eida said that the Petroleum Derivatives Pricing
Committee at the ministry held a meeting on Monday to determine the oil and oil
derivatives prices for March.
Following government directives, and for the second
consecutive month, the committee fixed the selling price of octane 90 gasoline
at JD0.85 per liter, of octane 95 gasoline at JD1.085 per liter, of diesel at
JD0.615 per liter, and of kerosene at JD0.615 per liter; it also maintained the
JD7 price per gas cylinder.
It should be
noted that the average price of Brent crude rose to $97.9 per barrel in the
month of February, compared to $86.9 per barrel recorded in January.
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