Costa Rica’s Oil Bill Cut in Half
September 29th, 2009 | by admin |Costa Rica’s oil bill fell 53% between January and August, compared to the same period in 2008, due to the sharp drop in oil prices, falling vehicle imports and a general decline in economic activity, state refinery Refinadora Costarricense de Petroleo (Recope) said Sunday.
Recope , the monopoly on gasoline products - spent us$1.59 billion during the first eight months of 2008 to buy oil, while the bill for the same period this year came in at us$749 million.
Purchases of crude oil and petroleum derivatives, such as diesel and gasoline, were reduced, Recope said.
Recope said it imported 11.8 million barrels of fuel in the January-August period, or 1.3 million barrels less than in the same period in 2008.
Costa Rica especially benefited from the drop in oil prices on the global market, Recope finance manager Carlos Quesada told the La Nacion newspaper.
In July 2008, oil prices hit nearly us$150 per barrel in intraday trading, but they have averaged just us$60 to us$71 per barrel this year.
The recession has reduced demand for fuel in the key industrial and lodging sectors, and trimmed vehicle imports, Quesada said.
Costa Rican officials expect the bill for fuel imports to drop to us$1.26 billion this year, well below the more than us$2 billion tab registered in 2008.
