By ANNELIA NIXON

Tribune Business Reporter

anixon@tribunemedia.net

Bahamian gasoline retailers are hoping to escape any "tremendous” price hike from the impact Israel's conflict with Iran will have on global oil costs.

Bernard ‘Porky’ Dorsett, operator of Porky’s Rubis Service Station on East Street, said “we'll have to just watch and see what happens” given that The Bahamas has no ability to influence global oil prices. He added that gas prices for Bahamian motorists are currently “stable” and have been for the past few months.

“The way it looks right now, it don't look like we are going to have any serious fuel problems,” Mr Dorsett said. “I mean, I don't suspect because I was just looking at fuel prices, but I guess we'll have to wait.

"You know, this thing just happened about two, three days ago, so we'll have to just watch and see what happens. We'll probably have to just watch it. But prices have been pretty steady here over the last three to four months. So hopefully it'll stay like that when the summer comes."

Oil prices were yesterday afternoon trading at $72.98 and $74.23 per barrel on the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) and Brent Crude indices, respectively, having increased by 7.26 percent and 7.02 percent, respectively.

“When the summer comes, more people moving. Prices normally go up during the summer. We get more people on the road. … Let's watch it for another couple weeks and see what happens," Mr Dorsett reiterated.

“We don't seem to be having no big fuel problems around the world because I mean, let's face it, the Canadians just decide they ain't selling Americans no more fuel. They sending their fuel to China and Europe. They decided, ‘Hey, we ain't going to supply Americans with fuel no more. So that, in itself, I don't see the prices moving. I've been looking at the barrel price, and that seemed to remain steady.”

Peter Roker, operator of Roker’s Gas Station, warned that the threat of sanctions and embargoes, which can drive gas prices higher, always seems to accompany conflicts in the Middle East. However, he added that if The Bahamas is to see an increase in gas prices, it will not be “tremendous".

“That part of the world is always a jewel,” Mr Roker said. “It's impacted whenever they have any threat of any sort over there. Fuel will definitely be impacted. And I understand that fuel has already begun to escalate. The price of fuel will be escalating.

"As a matter of fact, we had a fuel increase, I don't think, more than about a week ago. In other words, that fuel increase may not have been directly because of the Iran problem, but I think it was in anticipation of something happening over in that area.

“Generally speaking, I don't think you'll see any really tremendous increase, unless it's really a reaction to how things are changing in front of our face. So I would say, off-hand to the public, be conservative. Don't overspend on fuel. Don't overuse in fuel. At the end of the day, fuel is something, gasoline and diesel is something, we don't produce, so we are then held at the mercy to any increase."

Mr Roker added: “Iran is an oil producing country as well. They produce oil. Now there may be sanctions against them in terms of exporting into this part of the world, but they are an oil producing country. And besides that factor, they are in the Middle East. So if there's any conflict going on in that area, then people anticipate there could be a likelihood of embargos.

"It could be likelihood of not being able to get fuel out. There could be a likelihood of fuel facilities being being destroyed. So the minute there's any form of disruption in that area, the first thing that is affected is the fuel. Saudi Arabia, Iran, Qatar, any of those areas. So, that's the situation.

"And we in this part of the world have to be mindful that, particularly this time right now, with all what's happening in the US, don't rely too heavily on the US providing fuel, in my opinion. And it's only my opinion because they, I think, have embarked on a 'US first' type policy. So my feeling is that it'll be a bump in the road, but it will not be us falling through a big hike," he continued.

"Having said that, again, don't forget there are facilities in the Caribbean besides the facilities you have in the US and, of course, we are a minute consumer compared to other areas. So another thing you got to consider, too, is that the companies that are represented in The Bahamas, you got Shell that deals with Total, and Shell is a multi-national company, Sol Petroleum deals with Exxon.

"They, again, that's a multinational company. I mean, they have facilities all over the world. And then Rubis is French in origin but they have their facilities all over the world as well. So they have an obligation to juggle things around where their outlets throughout the entire world will be. I guess you might say that's another benefit that we have in The Bahamas."