Barbadians are being advised to brace for potentially higher oil prices in the near future, as a result of the new conflict between Israel and Palestine.
And Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Kerrie Symmonds, who issued the warning, has urged residents to conserve energy wherever possible.
Speaking at a Barbados Labour Party special joint branch meeting for the St James South, St James Central and St James North branches at Queen’s College on Sunday evening, the senior minister indicated that the already worrying situation with oil prices as a result of the war between Russia and Ukraine was now being compounded.
“As I speak to you, the Security Council of the United Nations is meeting to discuss the matter pertaining to the declaration of war between Israel and Palestine. A noise in the Middle East is never a good thing though they are hundreds of thousands of kilometres away from us because the spike in oil, which this region continues to need to import and which this country must continue to import, will inevitably knock on our door and impact us,” he warned.
“I want to say to you that even as that is happening, there is an ongoing conflict in the Ukraine with another oil-producing country, and that is Russia.”
On Saturday, a large-scale off-guard attack by Gaza militants on Israel left hundreds of Israelis dead and prompted a retaliation by Israeli forces.
While the two territories of Israel and Palestine are not oil producers, the Middle Eastern region accounts for a major portion of the global oil supply, and pundits have already been expressing concerns that the conflict could disrupt output.
Oil prices have already jumped, with Brent crude climbing US$2.25 per barrel to reach US$86.83 late Sunday.
Reports indicated that on Monday, Israeli officials ordered US oil giant Chevron to put a pause on its production at the Tamar natural gas field.
While it is not immediately clear how soon Barbadians could start feeling the effects of rising oil prices, or by how much, Symmonds urged residents to conserve energy where possible to help cushion the effects of those pending increases.
“This country Barbados is not out of the woods as yet and we have to be eternally diligent and practise good sense and good husbandry (of resources). In every one of our cases, we can play a part by conserving energy as best as possible,” said the St James Central MP.
He said authorities here were keeping a close eye on the developments in the Middle East and would be keeping Barbadians updated on any policies that were needed to counteract the impact.
“This government will continue to monitor the situation and obviously keep you abreast of developments and policy initiatives, where and if we believe they are necessary to make these types of interventions. This outbreak of war only took place yesterday but it is something that I want to signal from as early as now, that is on the forefront of our radar,” said Symmonds.
