The Ministry of Energy and Water issued a clarification today regarding the weekly mechanism used to determine fuel prices.
The statement reads: "The Ministry of Energy and Water - General Directorate of Oil wants to clarify the weekly mechanism for determining fuel selling prices, including gasoline and diesel oil. The fuel price structure tables consist of:
1 - The weekly average of global oil product prices according to Platts reports. This is a variable element that constitutes more than 70% of the product price.
2 - Elements that constitute the cost of goods from the country of origin to Lebanese territory, including maritime transport, insurance, banking fees, profit, and others. Some of these elements are fixed, while others are percentages linked to the fluctuations in global oil product prices from Platts.
3 - In addition to the elements mentioned above, there are fees and taxes, distribution commissions, tankers, and stations. These elements are fixed and determined in Lebanese pounds.
4 - The Central Bank of Lebanon continues to support the purchase of oil derivatives by 90%, calculated based on the official exchange rate, while the remaining 10% is calculated based on the black market dollar exchange rate.
Therefore, the Ministry of Energy and Water - General Directorate of Oil emphasizes that the recent weekly increases in oil product prices are solely due to the rise in global prices on one hand, and the sharp increase in the price of the US dollar on the black market on the other hand, which affects the unsupported portion of the product price, which is 10%. Meanwhile, the remaining 90% is still fully supported by the Central Bank of Lebanon."
