Esso Standard Oil and Texaco executives have appealed to the Dominican government to free imports of oil. They maintain that new market realities demand the end to the existing oil monopoly in the country. Only the Dominican Oil Refinery, operated jointly by the government and The Shell Company, is authorized by executive decree to engage in the importation of oil.
Mauricio Jiménez, general manager of Esso Standard Oil for the Dominican Republic, says that consumers are sometimes paying too much for imported oil due to the absence of a competitive market structure. According to him, this situation is at the root of many shortcomings in the distribution of fuel and petroleum by-products in the country. Mr Jiménez suggests that the country allow anyone to import oil provided they use the Platts Price Posting System to guide their purchases in the international market. “This is done in all Central American and most Caribbean nations but not the Dominican Republic,” he explained.