BP, Z raise petrol, diesel by 6c a litre
BP and Z Energy have increased the price of petrol and diesel by 6 cents a litre in the wake of the drone attacks on Saudi oil facilities on Saturday.
‘‘Following drone strikes on Saudi Arabian oil production facilities over the weekend there has been a sharp increase in the barrel price,’’ BP spokeswoman Leigh Taylor said.
‘‘This has happened alongside a weakening of the New Zealand dollar.’’
She said BP had responded by increasing the prices of all its fuel products at BP Connect around the country by 6c yesterday.
‘‘We are acutely aware of the impact of rising fuel prices on consumers and will continue to review BP Connect prices every day to ensure our pricing is as competitive as possible,’’ she said.
Z Energy said its price rise was also nationwide and attributable to the oil price rise that followed the Saudi attacks.
Earlier yesterday, rival Gull promised not to increase the price of petrol at its company controlled service stations before Saturday.
Gull New Zealand general manager David Bodger said the price of refined petrol and diesel on the Singapore exchange, which forms the benchmark for
‘‘We are committed to not increasing before the end of this working week.’’
David Bodger Gull New Zealand general manager
New Zealand fuel prices, rose by US$6.50 and US$5.50 a barrel, respectively, overnight.
At the current exchange rate, that implied petrol prices would need to go up 6.5 cents a litre and diesel 5.5c a litre, he said.
But Bodger said it had decided not to respond immediately.
‘‘We are committed to not increasing before the end of this working week.’’
Bodger said the short-term direction of oil prices was unclear.
‘‘It might go up again by the same amount tomorrow. But who knows.’’
The industry was waiting for word on the engineering assessments of the damage to the Saudi facilities, he said.
‘‘If it is a few hundred metres of pipe that is simple.
‘‘If it is 20 bulk tanks and a few kilometres of pipe and it is all still quite ‘warm’ and you haven’t quite put the fires out, then it is bloody hard.’’
Mobil has also been approached for comment.