If the conflict between Russia and Ukraine worsens, it could have an impact on oil – something that has already begun to be seen – worldwide, including scarcity, a factor that, incidentally, would affect the Dominican Republic.
“In fact, before the Russian attack on Ukrainian territory began, there was already a gap or mismatch between oil supply and demand. “There may be a shortage, obviously yes,” warned yesterday the president of the Dominican Oil Refinery (Refidomsa), Leonardo Aguilera, when questioned about the current turbulent context.
For the warning, he is quite right: Dominicans depend on crude oil, because the Caribbean nation does not produce it. Any negative movement – like the current one – represents a major setback for a nation that has been suffering for months from the ravages of the rise in the cost of so-called “black gold”. In the National Budget for 2022, it was estimated that a barrel of oil would be priced at 62.7 dollars. Yesterday, the benchmark for the Dominican case (the Texas intermediate -WTI-) closed with a rise of 0.8%, for a price of 92.81 dollars a barrel, after touching 100 dollars in the morning due to the Russian offensive in Ukraine.
The gap between supply and demand for oil worldwide is what has kept the price high, and what the geopolitical conflict has done is trigger its cost, because it has made the market more nervous.
The president of Refidomsa assumes that the Dominican Republic and other countries that are not oil producers would be affected by the price system and explained that “no country in the non-oil producing area has reserves for more than 30 to 45 days.” . “Virtually few countries have reserves for a long time,” he said.
“That conflict was seen to lead to that because the contradictions were very antagonistic, not only between Russia and Ukraine, but also between the struggle between NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) and Russia,” Aguilera said.
The official knows what is happening in Ukraine, he lived ten years in that nation, as he told journalists yesterday who went to the First Cathedral of America where a mass was celebrated for the 49th anniversary of the Refinery.
“Not only in oil… the price system at the international level could be dismantled,” Aguilera said. On the other hand, she announced the start of investigations aimed at locating hydrocarbons in exploitable quantities in the national territory.
What the Dominican industrial sector thinks
In another scenario, the president of the Association of Industries of the Dominican Republic (AIRD), Celso Juan Marranzini, highlighted that the conflict situation between Russia and Ukraine impacts practically the entire spectrum of raw materials due to the effects it causes on the cost of Petroleum.
“Oil affects plastic, chemical and petrochemical raw materials; but not only that, it also affects the transportation issue,” said the industrialist.
